


Making a Better Life

by Nymeria31



Category: Solangelo - Fandom, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Friendship/Love, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-26 05:05:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 43,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6225100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nymeria31/pseuds/Nymeria31
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico's 3 days of forced bed rest and Will's 3 days to prove Nico how awesome he is. And a little bit more</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing a fic in English (I apologize in advance if there are mistakes) and first time Solangelo. First chapter of 10

"What does he mean I'm not his type? I'm the son of Poseidon. I'm everyone's type"

Nico couldn't help hearing Percy, who was explaining (rather loudly) to Annabeth how he was everyone's type. Nico had the ghost of a smile on his lips "One down, one to go," he thought, while he was walking towards Will.

Telling Percy about the feelings he once had for him had been hard, but telling his father -Hades Lord of the Underworld-, that was a whole new level of terrifying. Different scenarios went through his mind every time he imagined himself having that conversation with his dad.

Scenario 1: Hades calling him an embarrassment, and turning him into a ghost.

Scenario 2: Hades throwing him into river Lethe, so he would forget this nonsense.

Scenario 3: Persephone (Hades' idea) turning him into a plant and using him as an underworld decoration forever.

All of these were quite daunting, but the words his father said to him in Portugal kept coming back "My children are so rarely happy. I… I would like to see you be an exception". Maybe his father wanted him to be happy no matter what he chooses to do or with whom he chooses to be, and watching Will, waiting for him with his blond hair catching the sunlight in a way that made Nico believe that perhaps, he was a morning person after all; he felt in peace.

"Holy Hades, I'm in trouble," he thought. As if on cue, a few bones with the shape of a heart, where surfacing around him. "Great, I can't summon zombies without fading, but heart-shaped bones? Sure, that's not life-threatening at all"

Nico approached Will, who was watching him with an amused look in his eyes.

"Why is Percy looking at you like you offended all of his ancestors?"

"Don't worry about that. He will get over it"

"Well, then let's get going Death Boy"

"Do not call me that again," snapped Nico "Or the infirmary deal is over, Solace"

Will just looked him with a seriousness that Nico had never seen before in any son of Apollo.

"I will take none of that di Angelo," said Will, blue eyes blazing with determination "You need to rest, I have to check those wounds and you need to change that shirt. Seriously, where on Olympus did you get that?

Nico was too stunned to answer; he had never felt that kind of fire emanating from Will. "I… I… It was… None of your business," that was all he was capable of saying.

"Ok, let's move. You owe me those three days and I'm planning on collecting. Doctor's orders" and they started walking to the infirmary.

"You just say those words and expect everyone to do as you say?" asked Nico, finding again his fire. He might not be able to summon a little ghost, but he still had his sword, somewhere.

"Pretty much. Now, come on di Angelo, I need to check you out"

"Eh… Excuse me?" Nico fell a little behind when those words came out of Will's mouth. Nico hadn't noticed before how cute that mouth was. He didn't want to see Will pouting, ever; it would be impossible to say no to whatever he was asking.

"You heard me, I am going to check you out" he winked at Nico and pulled him inside the infirmary.

Nico's forced bed rest was about to start, he didn't know why he was scared. He had been in Tartarus and survived despite all odds, so why is the prospect of spending a few days near Will Solace making him feel uneasy?  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Will was quite pleased with himself. During the battle with Gaia when Nico told Octavius he was leaving camp, it felt like someone had literally ripped his heart out; at that moment he knew, he would do anything to convince Nico to stay at Camp with him. Now, Nico was, for all intents and purposes, his captive for three days and he will take advantage of that; nothing like two wars to make you realize that life was too short (as a demigod, he should know) to let opportunities like this pass.

Will was not sure exactly when he started developing feelings for the son of Hades. It was not as if the kid was around camp all the time, and he tended to be in the shadows, and being a son of Apollo it was a bit difficult for Will to understand why someone would choose to be in the dark. It is like Nico was made of darkness, and the darkness was winning. He felt him fading away when he touched him and it was just the fact that they were, you know, in the middle of a war that kept him from taking Nico away, to a place where Will would protect him and never let anything ever hurt him again.

Well, these three days were his opportunity, and he will get Nico di Angelo even if that meant playing dirty. He was playing for keeps.


	2. The one with song, hugs and tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is chapter number 2, I hope you all like it and reviews are welcome. I apologized in advance if there are some mistakes

Nico had never been inside the infirmary before. It was a big place compared to rest of the cabins; there were many beds, each one separated by curtains to give the patients some privacy. In a corner, there were several cabinets full of supplies such as bandages, alcohol, surgical gloves, gauze, spare scrubs for the doctors and bottles with Ambrosia and Nectar.

However, what surprised Nico the most were how full it was, there were still several wounded from the war, Greeks and Romans alike and a lot of Apollo kids running around, taking care of the demigods. He couldn't help thinking about all the other lives that were lost, he should know it, he felt each one of those. He felt the anger rising inside him, anger towards Gaia and her minions, towards the Gods for not dealing with that threat when they should instead of locking up Olympus. He was angry with everyone, and then he thought about his father _"Let go of your anger"._ (It was weird how he kept thinking about Hades lately) and looking at Will, he realized that this was his chance to try to make a better life for himself, just as he told Hazel she should do.

Will snapped his fingers in front of him "Are you Okay? You kind of space out"

"I'm fine. Where am I supposed to stay? This place is full"

Will gave him one of his signatures I'm-so-awesome smiles "I saved you a spot Death boy, I knew you were coming"

He took Nico to a bed in a corner that was suspiciously close to what appear to be an office that he even forgot to remember Will not to call him Death boy.

"Is this your office or something?"

"Yes, I need to keep an eye on you in case you try to escape" and he winked

Does this guy never stop smiling and winking? That's not normal, Nico thought.

"This is going to be your home for the next three days," Will explained "As you already know, I'm the head doctor, and I will be in charge of your recovery" Another smile, this one with a little mischief in it.

"Are there only Apollo kids in here?" asked Nico, who was genuinely interested.

"Most of them, but sometimes we got kids from other cabins that want to learn and we teach them. Now, put this on" He gave Nico a dressing gown.

Nico was going to close the curtain so he could change and he noticed that Will was not moving. "Aren't you going to leave? I have to change"

Will just shrugged like it was nothing "Don't worry, I'm a doctor, I've seen everything"

"Maybe, but I still need my privacy. Can you go?"

"Sure, I'll be back in a few minutes" He left and closed the curtain behind him.

Nico changed, he was happy because he was finally getting rid of that ugly Hawaiian shirt. Two things to renovate, he thought, Hade's cabin décor and my wardrobe. When he opened the curtain, Will was already there, waiting. Damn, that smile could melt an iceberg, which was something to expect, taking into account that his father was the Sun God.

"Can you stop smiling, please? It's like I'm going blind" Nico even covered his face to prove his point.

"Well, thank you"

"It…uh… It wasn't a compliment" How can people be so sure of themselves? He couldn't understand that. For Nico it was difficult to comprehend how some people were comfortable in any environment and with anyone; that was a foreign concept to him, even the fact that he had friends and that other people wanted to be his friends was still hard to believe. He wasn't like that before, everything changed when Bianca died, he used to be a happy, outgoing kid and a little bit nerdy too with his mythomagic cards, but then, she died and he stopped playing his favorite game, he stopped talking to people and started hanging out with ghosts. Yeah, not his brightest idea. At least, he didn't blame Percy anymore, and he found a new sister, he smiled every time he thought of her, it was nice not to feel so alone for a change.

"Really? I'm going to take it like one anyway. Time to be a doctor, let me check you"

Will reached to touch his arm, Nico immediately pulled away. He couldn't help it, he didn't like being touched. Will gave him a questioning look.

"Sorry, I don't like when people touch me"

"That's all right, but I kind of need to touch you to check your temperature, take your pressure and check those nasty wounds in your arms"

This time, when Will touched him again, he tried his hardest not to pull away and succeed. While Will was otherwise concentrated on doctor stuff. Nico looked; well, more like stared at him. His blond hair, those blue eyes, that cute little nose and that mouth. The way he murmured to himself details about Nico's health to remember later. The graceful movement of his hands. Holy Greeks that was one good-looking demigod. Nico was so far gone that he didn't realize Will was asking him something.

"Hey, earth to Nico" Will passed his hand in front of Nico's face.

"I… Just… Yes?"

"I have some questions for you," he was looking at him with concern "When was the last time you ate?"

"Yesterday, at dinner. Remember the going away party for the Romans?"

"Let me rephrase the question, When was the last time you ate properly? And don't lie to me, I was watching you yesterday and I know you barely ate"

"I eat," he answered, wondering why Will was watching him yesterday "I just don't need a lot of food"

"You can't survive like that, with your powers; you probably need to eat more than the regular demigod, have you seen Percy Jackson eating? I want you to start eating like that, with manners of course. Next question, when was the list time you slept?"

"Yesterday?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling you?"

"You need to sleep Nico; you have to take care of yourself. Some people do care about you"

It must have shown on Nico's face how unbelievable he thought that was because Will put a hand on his shoulder.

"It looks like I'm going to be doing this a lot, I care about you Nico and I want to be your friend" there was so much sincerity in those eyes, that it was impossible for Nico not to believe him. However, he still was a bit apprehensive, after all, it wasn't the first time people in Camp Half-Blood said that they wanted to be his friend until they remembered he was the creepy son of Hades "Next question, were you always this pale?"

"I am the son of Hades," said Nico, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Is it in the job description or something? Did he put an ad?" Will did as if he was reading a newspaper "HADES, LORD OF THE UNDERWORLD IS LOOKING FOR A SON. The only requirement for this position: You must be extremely pale"

"Was that supposed to be a joke, Solace?" asked Nico not amused at all.

"I just wanted to see if I could make you smile" and again that big blinding smile. It felt like it was melting away all of his sorrows "Last question, who did this?" he was pointing to the claw marks on his arms.

"That was Lycaon"

"Lycaon, as in the first werewolf?" Nico nodded.

"Ok, the good thing is that you obviously did not turn into a werewolf, the bad thing is, this type of wounds take a while to heal, and not even nectar or ambrosia are going to do much. So, singing it is"

It took a while for Nico to register what Will said, "Did you say sing?"

"One of my special powers, I can heal people by singing a song to my father in Ancient Greek. What? Did you think you were the only one with the cool powers?"

Nico wasn't expecting that, but then Will began to sing, even his voice was beautiful, how is that even possible? How can someone be so perfect? Why someone as perfect as him would want to be my friend? Thought Nico being his usual cheerful self.

He noticed that some of his wounds began to heal; it was a marvelous thing to see. It felt like Will was putting everything he was into the song. Everyone in the infirmary stopped moving and were as mesmerized as Nico by Will's voice. It didn't just heal, it was like waves of calmness were coming out of him. He was not only healing his wounds and of those near the infirmary, but the world as well. Will was outpouring his life and soul into that one song. It was one of those moments that seem to last forever.

Nico didn't even notice when Will finished, hell, a meteorite could have crashed on camp and Nico would have been oblivious to the destruction and chaos. Will started talking and bandaging his arms, that brought him back to reality.

"That should help you heal faster. I'm just bandaging to make sure you don't scratch or anything, these wounds tend to burn" he finished, and looked over checking his work "Now, I'm going to leave you be, at least for a while. Don't move"

"Doctor's orders?" asked Nico, raising his eyebrow.

"Hell yeah, and remember no more Underworld-y stuff until I say so" he winked and left to look after other patients.

Nico was left alone. He felt tired and it wasn't even midday yet, keeping up with Will's happy mood was difficult, he should have brought a book or something, he thought.

Two and a half days to go.

* * *

Will was definitely not in a good mood. Nico was undernourished, he clearly hasn't slept well in a while and to top it all he didn't even care about his own health. Was it really so hard for Nico to believe that Will genuinely cared about him? He knew that his sister's death had been tough on him, but he should have stayed at camp, he could have found people who could help him cope, only the Gods knew that some of the kids there have had a rough childhood and had lost someone at some point as well. What's more, Nico found another sister, he wasn't alone anymore, so what is his deal with all the self-pity and self-hatred? He was clearly smart and powerful, he had several friends, he was kind of cute, well, not kind of, he was extremely cute. That thought put a silly smile on Will's face. We was so distracted by Nico's cuteness that he tripped over a chair and if his friend Lou Ellen hadn't caught him, he would have hit the floor, face first.

"Careful, Will. What's on your mind? You have your idiot face on"

"I don't have an idiot face; I was just thinking that we need new supplies around here"

Lou Ellen looked around "No, you don't. Something is bothering you" she was looking at him, trying to read his expressions "It's not something, it's someone."

Damn, that girl is too good; she could always read Will, not for the first time he wondered if maybe she could read minds.

"Who is this someone? Is it annoying you? I can't turn it into a pig you know, I kind of miss having pig pets"

"It's nothing Lou Ellen, what are you doing here?" but she wasn't listening, that girl had the attention span of a fruit fly, she was looking at the corner.

"Is that di Angelo? How did you get him here?" It doesn't matter, I'm going to say hi" and she went over there, leaving Will no other option that to follow her so she didn't scare Nico away.

"Hi, Nico" she gave him a big smile" How are you? What are you doing here? Are you planning on staying? Do you want to practice sword fighting with me sometime? Why are you so pale?" and she continued asking questions, how was Nico supposed to answer when she didn't even stop to take a breath? Will had no idea, so he decided to intervene; poor Nico looked like he was about to shadow-travel to the Underworld despite the restriction.

"Lou Ellen, you just asked a thousand questions and didn't give him space to answer. Why don't we just leave him to rest? That's why he is here" he was pulling her away from there.

"Ok, see you around Nico; you owe me a sword-fight practice. Bye" Will took her outside the infirmary. "It's him, isn't it? The reason for your idiot face, I knew it"

"How could you possibly know?" asked Will a little surprised, Lou Ellen had certainly hit the nail.

"During the battle, when he said he was leaving camp, you looked like someone just killed your pet," she put a hand on his arm "don't let him hurt you, although if he does hurt you I can turn him into a pig" she kissed on the cheek and left.

Apparently, his feelings were transparent, what if Nico finds out that the reason Will is keeping him in the infirmary is not medical at all? Well, not exactly, there are certainly some medical reasons involved, but still. He looked up the sky and gave a silent prayer to his dad "I could really use your advice right now, you know. We all missed you father". Another thing he was worried, since the end of the Giant war some Gods and Goddesses had communicated with their children, except Apollo. He knew something happened, the Oracle stopped working and neither he nor his siblings had been able to foresee anything or talk to him in dreams, he meant to ask Percy about it, once he was a bit free from his duties. He went back in to keep working, some people needed him and Nico was in there too. He was going to check on him again, you know, for medical purposes only.

* * *

There wasn't really much to do, Nico was just supposed to stay in there, and rest, he didn't even know how to do that, he was uncomfortable, his butt was falling asleep because it had been in the same position since morning. He moved it to the left, then to the right, he didn't get out of the bed, because he tried that before and Will immediately went to tell him that he was supposed to be in bed, resting, he did that every fifteen minutes or so. Nico definitely didn't like it, he was not used to being idle.

It was afternoon already, and he was thinking for the hundredth time, how a book would come in handy right now; to read or hit Will in the head with it, that is the question. He was trying to choose which one was the best, when his curtain was pulled open and there stood his friends (he had friends, that was weird) Percy and Annabeth, Jason and Piper, Hazel and Frank and, of course, Reyna, who had a murderous look in her eyes.

"So here you are, we've looking for you to say goodbye, and we couldn't find you anywhere. We thought you had been kidnapped, that you left camp without telling anyone, that you shadow-travelled and ended up in Africa" at this point Reyna was so close to Nico's face that he felt like disappearing in his bed, even the others were backing away. She could scare you with just a look, and she was so commanding no wonder she was praetor of New Rome "we were about to form a search party when Lou Ellen told us that you were here. What do you have to say for yourself? Speak now son of Hades"

"Sorry, I forgot to mention. I promised Will that I would take three days of bed rest; I had no idea you were going to come up with all those scenarios or that you would form a search party" he was blushing now, and with his pale complexion that only made him look like a tomato.

"We were just worried Nico," said Hazel smiling "It is good that you are resting, and letting someone take care of those wounds"

"It won't happen again, I promise on the River Styx"

"You bet your ass it won't happen again di Angelo," said Jason "I'm not going to let you out of my sight, neither is Percy. Right bro?"

"Damn right, we will be your bodyguards, nobody is going to hurt you while we are here dude" assured Percy. Annabeth and Piper just looked at each other and rolled their eyes like saying "Boys"

"It is not necessary, seriously" he was panicking, he was not going to have those two following him around, so he changed the subject "Are you leaving already?" he asked Hazel, Frank, and Reyna.

"Yes, everybody is ready" Hazel had tears in her eyes "I'm going to miss having you close. You are going to visit right?" Frank put his arm around her, he was so tall and imposing, but he had such a kind heart and he loved Hazel, to Nico that was the most important thing. Otherwise, he would have to send the guy with a one-way ticket to the Underworld.

"Of course, I'll visit. I'll miss you too Hazel" he looked at Frank "Praetor Zhang, it was a pleasure meeting you. I hope you take care of my sister"

"A pleasure meeting you too Nico; and, of course, I'll take care of Hazel, not like she needs it anyway" he looked at Hazel with such love and admiration, honestly, Nico was happy for them, but he was about to vomit, too much love around. Therefore, he turned his attention to Reyna.

"I hope you forgive me for worrying you. I will miss you too Reyna" he put out his hand, hoping she wouldn't slap it away. Reluctantly, she took it.

"Take care of yourself, Nico," she pointed at Jason and Percy "I wouldn't trust these two to do a good job" they looked appalled

"Not to brag or anything," said Percy, who was obviously bragging, "But Jason and I control de sky and the sea and we stopped Gaia and we are totally awesome"

"Yes, yes, you control cool stuff and you have a bromance now, we are all happy about it, especially Piper and I," said Annabeth "We should go, Nico is supposed to be resting, I'll come back later to bring you some books." He gave Annabeth a grateful look; finally, someone understood what he needed. Frank, Hazel, and Reyna held their arms out as if to hug him, he flinched; he definitely needed to work on that.

"Right, sorry. I forgot. No hugging," said Frank.

"Wait, you let Jason hugged you this morning," said Piper "Why can't they?"

"Dude, you let Jason hug you and not me?" asked Percy "That's racist"

"How is that racist?"

"I don't know, maybe the sea is not your type" Percy looked offended and Annabeth punched him in the arm.

Nico groaned, second biggest mistake of his life, telling Percy Jackson he wasn't his type, he ignored him for now and looked at the ones who were leaving "Fine, you all can hug me, but just this one…."

He didn't finish talking, they all hugged him at the same time, they were practically choking him. That was the weirdest experience of his life and he'd been in freaking Tartarus. He didn't know how to get out of that, thankfully Will was making rounds at that moment, he looked at Nico with amusement, when he mouthed the words "Help me." At first, he just observed, enjoying Nico's discomfort, and happy at the same time, because these people were showing him how much they care, he let it go for a few more minutes and then he decided to put Nico out of his misery. Will let out one of his ultrasonic whistles, they immediately pulled away, covering their ears.

"Now, what is going on in here?" said Will using his stern voice "Mr. di Angelo here needs his rest, you are unsettling my patient"

"Calm down, dude. Hazel, Frank and Reyna are leaving, they just wanted to say goodbye" explained Jason. He hugged Nico one last time, convinced Piper to do the same and they left, the same did Annabeth and Percy. The Romans said their final goodbyes and left too, not without giving Nico like three more hugs for good measure, and getting promises from him.

"You have nice friends," said Will smiling "How are you feeling? There were too many emotions around this bed. How did you survive?"

"You are not funny Solace. I am going to miss Hazel, though. After Bianca, I never thought…" he trailed, he didn't want to burden Will with his crappy feelings, he should be grateful that he found a new sister, but his memories with Bianca were too powerful, she always took care of him, and practically adopted the role of mother when theirs died. It still hurt that she dumped him the minute they got to camp to join the hunters, and it still hurt that she chose to be reborn, Nico would never see her again. He couldn't believe he was about to fall apart in front of Will. He felt him touching his hand; that simple touch pulled him away of the memories that were threatening to take him. Nico looked up and he stared at Will's beautiful blue eyes, he thought it would be awkward, but Will just held his hand and returned his look.

"I'm here, Nico. I'm not going anywhere" they stayed like that for what felt like hours. Just holding hands and looking into each other's eyes. Too soon, one of Will's brothers interrupted them, apparently there was some "emergency". Nico wanted to bite his head off, what kind of emergency couldn't wait until they finish. Didn't he realize they were having a moment? Gods, Nico could barely contain his anger, but he had to, otherwise he would start summoning dead people.

"Apparently, I am going somewhere," Will let go of his hand "I'll see you once I'm finished" he winked and left.

Nico nodded and sank into his pillows. He was afraid of his feelings for Will; he was just out of a crush, to fall into another one, and what if Will is not gay. Although what just happened, the look and the handholding, there was definitely something going on there. What did he know about feelings and stuff? Nico thought, he was pulled out of his time, his memory was wiped, and then spent years in a damn hotel, and after that, there were two wars to worry about. How did one know if someone was gay? He should read some magazines or something. Even if Will turn out to be gay, why would he want to be with Nico? He hid his face and groaned. Why is life so damn difficult?

* * *

The emergency was a fight between Ares and Hermes cabin. There were some fire and explosions involved thanks to the Stoll brothers, so Will spend practically all of his afternoon and a good portion of his evening, tending to the wounded and keeping Clarrise La Rue from killing the twins. Just a normal day at Camp Half-Blood. He usually enjoyed these situations, but not today, he and Nico were having a moment and then, they were interrupted, he almost bite his brother head off, which was surprising because he was not a person prone to violence, that just prove how this thing with Nico di Angelo was messing with his head.

The worst part, he wasn't there at dinnertime, so he wasn't sure if Nico ate like he should. He looked at the time on his watch, it was almost midnight, and Nico should be sleeping. Will decided to go in the infirmary, he told himself that he needed to get some things from his office, but he knew that was a lie, he wanted to check on Nico, but it was only for medical reasons, mostly.

Nico was awake and reading, no surprise there "Why aren't you sleeping di Angelo?"

At least, Nico had the decency to look ashamed "I couldn't sleep, and Annabeth brought me these books; they are mostly about architecture, but they are interesting"

"Did you eat?" at that Nico just rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I did"

"Properly?"

"Now, you are just trying to piss me off," said Nico with exasperation.

"No, I'm just concern about your health, let me check your vitals again" he reached to touch Nico, carefully; he remembered that he didn't like being touched, but he had to do it, he is a doctor, he is allowed to touch his patients.

Nico let him, which was an improvement from this morning. When he examined him this morning, he was surprised how cold Nico was, but he knew it was a Hades thing, so he didn't freak out. However, this time, he knew for sure that Nico had eaten, not much, but it was something. He let go of Nico's hand. He immediately felt the loss; he needed to find another excuse to touch him "and now I sound like a stalker, not cool Solace, not cool" he thought.

"Why can't you sleep? It's nothing physical, I know"

Nico looked away "I don't need to sleep much, I'm an Underworld kid, I'm like a vampire"

"I call bullshit" Will sat in Nico's bed "I know you were in Tartarus. Are you having nightmares?"

"I'm fine, Solace" snapped Nico "I don't need any of this. Why don't you go to sleep? You certainly look tired"

"I can take the nightmares away, but you have to talk about them first," he took Nico's hand "like I said before, I'm not going anywhere" he felt Nico fighting him, so he did what he promised himself he would never do, he pouted.

Oh, Gods no, Nico thought, he is pouting, I can't say no to that face. Still he couldn't tell Will, he didn't want to seem weak in front of him, he didn't want to admit in front of anyone that every time he closed his eyes, he went back to that place. They were vivid dreams; he felt the stale air that hurt his lungs, the fire of river Phlegethon burning down his throat that was the only thing keeping him alive in that inferno, and how the goddess of misery pitied him (that was a low blow). He felt powerless, being the son of Hades didn't help him in that place, he was taken and forced to be in a freaking jar, surviving on pomegranate seeds. All those memories came crashing and without realizing it, he started sobbing.

That is what happened when you keep everything inside, Will thought, at some point, the barriers break and you feel all that pain at once. He saw everything in Nico's eyes, the pain for Bianca's dead, his mother's dead, his father's indifference, his time in Tartarus and people's rejection. It broke his heart to see Nico suffering like that, he did the only thing he knew it would help, he hugged him, hard. There were no words who could express how Will felt, so he put everything in that hug and started crying too, feeling Nico's pain as if it were his own.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, although for Will it might have been days. He felt Nico's sobbing stop, and he knew Nico would immediately pull away with embarrassment. So he sang; this was a song to make him feel calm and sleepy, so for once he could sleep without having nightmares, without feeling as if he carried the world on his shoulders.

He felt Nico's breathing slowing. Will stopped singing, he accommodated his head in the pillow and pull up the covers, and without expecting it, he place a soft kiss on Nico's forehead, closed the curtains and left.


	3. The one with truths

When Nico woke up the next morning, he felt good, scratch that, he felt wonderful. He hadn't slept like this in Gods knew how long, and the interesting part, No Nightmares, at all. Being a demigod meant having weird dreams almost every night, and the dreams were never just dreams, they were warnings, messages by the Gods and/or enemies and the usual no sense dream. Nico's dreams have always been a bit different; he could travel through them, searching for other people or finding information. However, since Tartarus, he only had terrible nightmares about the time he spent there. But, last night, nada, there was nothing interrupting his sleep, he looked at the watch on his nightstand, it was 11:00 in the morning, when was the last time he slept in? He felt amazing until he started remembering about last night's events.

There was crying (mostly mine, Nico thought), there were hugs, there was a song, and there were huge waves of embarrassment. There were two options for him: Playing dumb and act as if nothing happened or death and honestly, right now, death was looking pretty good to Nico; and death was no so bad after all, his father told him he would prepare a place for him there. Yes, that's a good plan, Nico thought, he was going to spend some time with his father, they haven't seen each other in a while; they could bond or something like that.

First, he was going to leave the infirmary unnoticed. He got out of bed and realized that he would have to go wearing his dressing gown since he couldn't shadow-travel, he wrapped himself like a burrito with his sheet. He was about to sneak a peek through the curtains, but as usual, luck was not on his side and at that moment someone opened the curtains to check on him, and of course that someone was Will.

"Good morning," said Will, being his frequent cheery self, he was carrying a tray "I brought you breakfast. I don't know exactly what you like, but I have everything in here: fruit, cereal, bacon, all kinds of eggs, pastries, bread, toast, honey, butter and jam, and to drink milk, coffee and juice" and for good measure he threw in there a gigantic smile. The smile faded when he noticed Nico was out of bed and all wrapped in the sheets "Why do you look like a burrito? Are you trying to leave?"

Nico didn't know what to say. He hated that look of disappointment on Will's beautiful eyes, but he couldn't stay, not after he made a fool of himself. Before he could answer, Will closed the curtains, put the tray down, put his hands on Nico's shoulders and sat him on the bed, then stood there with his hands on his waist, like he was about to nag a 5-year-old.

"Is this about what happened last night?"

There goes the playing dumb plan, Nico thought. Therefore, he decided to answer honestly "I can't stay here Will, and I know what you are going to say: that it doesn't matter, that you want to be my friend and that I promised to stay here for 3 days. Last night you saw me at my lowest point and I just can't do this anymore" he stood up, he barely reached Will's chin "Don't say anything to anyone or I will do underworld-y stuff, even if that means I disappear, I couldn't care less" he tried to leave, but Will took him by the arm.

"Did you know that as a son of Apollo, I could curse you to make you talk in rhymes that can last for weeks, months even?" Will was pointing at his chest "And that one of my best friends turns people into pigs? Trust me, you don't want to see me angry Death boy, well, angrier to be precise"

Holy Hades, angry Will was hot, Nico thought, which was definitely something he should not be thinking at this moment, he was blushing too, but he pulled himself together, he was not letting Will win this time "You can't force me to stay Will"

"You are here, aren't you? Besides you are not completely healed, so you are not leaving. Doctor's orders"

"You can't expect me to stay just because you say that. I'm leaving" Will hadn't let go of his arm, and he was smiling, apparently even in the middle of an argument this guy could be disgustingly happy.

"You are not leaving, and you know why is that?" said Will "because we've been discussing out loud, and if you open that curtain you are going to find that we have attracted quite an audience, and I know that you don't like crowds. Would you be willing to explain to everyone out there what happened?"

He saw shadows of people standing close to the curtains to hear everything, and he couldn't face those people, for all intents and purposes, Nico was trapped. He was powerless, literally, and Will knew it.

* * *

Will felt awful. He was kind of bullying Nico into staying and he didn't like it one bit, even less when he saw defeat on Nico's eyes. He won that one, Death boy was staying, but at what cost? It didn't feel right. After all, I said I was playing dirty, he thought. That was just not his style, and seeing Nico all hurt, made him want to hug him again, however, he knew that was not likely, at least not before, they talk about last night. In addition, Nico still needed to recover, those wounds were going to take a while to heal, it was all for medical reasons, most of it.

"Why don't we sit?" he reached to touch him in the arm, and Nico pulled away, that hurt Will even more. They made progress yesterday: there was handholding and hugging. But, He had to ruin everything this morning.

"You should eat some breakfast"

"I can't eat all of that Solace," Nico said, sitting slowly on the bed, still holding the sheets like a lifeline.

"Don't worry," He sat in bed with Nico "I haven't had breakfast either; we can share" he paused "If you want to, we could talk"

"I don't want to talk. If you must stay, then be my guest, but do it quietly" Nico took one toast and started nibbling at it like a mouse, he clearly didn't want to eat, he was just doing it to make Will leave him alone for the rest of the day.

They ate in an uncomfortable silence. Will ate most of it; Nico barely ate that toast and drank a little coffee, he accommodated himself in bed again, sitting as far away from Will as possible.

Will picked up the tray and then he remembered the bag that he left at the foot of the bed, there was a surprise for Nico in there "I got this for you. I know Annabeth only sent you architecture books; so, I brought you my favorite books of all times, and I wanted us to read them together, but I guess that is not happening now." Nico didn't meet his eyes "Anyway, I hope you enjoy them" he left the bag in Nico's bed, stood up and made a move to go, but he knew he couldn't leave things that way, and he was furious indeed, who did he think he was? Will always thought of Nico as strong, but he was going to flee like a coward today just because of some tears and hugs. What's the big deal anyway? Everyone cries, just because he did it once doesn't make him any especial. He turned around and forced Nico to look at him.

"You know what di Angelo; I am tired of your shit. I am tired of your self-pity and your self-loathing. You think that everyone is trying to reject you that everyone hates you, and nobody cares about you, but let me tell you something, the reason you pushed people away, it's because you don't want them to see how little you think of yourself, you believe you are not worthy of love because you don't love yourself. Well, I call bullshit, if anyone deserves to be love is you. And, after everything you've been through, everything you've suffered, you survived, and not only that, you saved our asses, twice. You are the most resilient, brave and magnificent person I have ever met, and you deserve so much more, you deserve to have an amazing life and to be happy with who you are because you are an incredible human being"

Will felt drained after that little speech, and to be honest, he was about to cry. He held Nico's look for a few heartbeats, and then he dropped his eyes to Nico's mouth, he wanted to kiss him so badly, but he knew this wasn't the right time; he kissed him on the forehead and left.

* * *

Nico was about to cry, again. What was wrong with him lately? All the feelings and the crying, that was not him. He touched his forehead where Will just kissed him. It felt right; it left a sensation that made him think that everything was going to be perfect.

He was barely holding up the tears, Will was right, as usual, _"you believe you are not worthy of love because you don't love yourself"_ It took someone observant like him to know what was really going on in Nico's head. Nobody has ever called him on that before, that just proved his point that people didn't like him enough to care, or perhaps it was like Will said, that he kept pushing them away. Nico was the one, who never gave people the chance to get close to him, so why would they care? Except for Will, who cares, he thought. It didn't matter how much he tried to push him away, the guy just clawed his way back in. He was determined Nico will give him that. _"You deserve to have an amazing life and to be happy with who you are because you are an incredible human being"_ he deserves happiness, but it was still difficult for him to believe that he deserved anything at all. It was something he would have to get used to.

He finally managed not to let go of the waterworks. He noticed the bag Will left. He reached for it, it was heavy, there were in total seven books, how long was Will planning to keep him here? He took the smallest one, it was _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,_ Nico had heard about the books, but never had the time to read them, and then he just felt that those books were for children and he stopped being a child when he was 10 and everything fell apart. He might start reading them now and Will did say these were his favorite books of all times.

He was about to start when someone came in, one of Will's siblings, informing him that he was in charged to change his bandages and to show him to the bathrooms. If he waited all these years to read these books, they can wait a bit more, he thought, and then follow the girl to the bathrooms.

When he came back, all refreshed from his shower, Nico took the book and put the bag on the table beside his bed, when something fell from it. It was a pack of Mythomagic cards, there was a note attached to them:

_I know that you used to play this game, Percy told me. I thought maybe we could play together, although, you are going to have to teach me because I have no idea how to play this thing._

_Will_

_P.S. I'm surprised how accurate these things are. Do you think that a demigod made this game?_

He smiled, lightly. What on Hades was Will doing to him? Sometimes he wanted to not like him so much, but the guy made it difficult with all the hugging, the forehead kisses, the books, the game. What was he going to do? Because Will was right, he didn't care enough about himself, there was no way he could be with someone, being as full of flaws as he was, How could anyone want to be with him? Especially someone like Will. He was so full of life, love, sunshine and hope and everybody loved him. On the other hand, there was Nico, who was just him, the little weirdo who spent most of his time hiding in the shadows, so people wouldn't notice how flawed and damaged he was. "Wow, where the hell did that come from?" Nico muttered softly. That speech definitely gave him a lot to think. Fortunately, he had seven books to read, seven books that would keep his mind occupied with other stuff. "Denying the problem. That's probably healthy," he said to himself. He picked up the book and started reading. The name of the first chapter _"The Boy Who Lived"_ well that sounds promising, he thought and went on.

* * *

Nico was becoming a huge fan of those books, he finished the first one in a manner of hours and he was already on the second book. He even forgot to eat, one of Will's sister practically forced him to eat, and he realized in that moment that forcing people to do things is something that runs in that family. He fell in love with Hermione in the first book; she was a bit of a know-it-all, but who wasn't, especially if one was as good as she was in everything. He wished he could be like that, good in everything and sure of himself. Better not to go down that rabbit hole again.

He didn't see Will during the rest of the day. Instead, he got visitors, Jason and Piper (it was like they were joined at the hip lately) and then Annabeth, alone, that was weird.

"Where is Percy? He rarely leaves you alone," he asked here, partly relieved and partly concerned.

"I decided to come alone" she sat in the bed with him "unless you want him here asking about the type thing" she smirked.

"Gods, no, leave him away from here; I'm in recovery, so I don't need him to upset me"

"I just came to see how you were doing," she looked at the stack of books "Pretty well, as far as I can tell. Where did you get the books?"

"Will lent them to me" Nico was a little sad, Will hadn't been in the infirmary at all, and he knew it was his fault, Will wasn't the type of doctor who abandon his patients like that. He was just avoiding Nico.

"Why are you frowning? Did something happened to Will?" she asked, genuinely worried.

"Nothing happened" Nico tried to come up with something that would divert Annabeth's attention from anything Will related, she was a smart one, daughter of Athena after all, she would get what was going out in a matter of seconds "I was just wondering if you were upset about me having a crush on Percy"

She smiled gently at him "Why would I be upset? I mean if anyone could understand it is I, after all, I am dating him. Besides, it's not like you tried to break us apart or anything. You don't have to worry about me hating you. You can't choose with whom you fall in love"

"Well, I didn't exactly love him. It was more like an infatuation. He saved Bianca and me, and I was 10" he was embarrassed, he never talk about this to anyone, not even Jason and not for lack of effort on his part.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Nico. It's already in the past, but I should warn you, Percy is offended, he thinks that as a son of Poseidon he is a gift to this world and therefore, everyone's type. So, he might give you a presentation about how awesome he is"

Nico groaned, "Seriously, How do you put up with him?"

"What can I say? He is a seaweed brain, but he is MY seaweed brain, and even you have to admit he is rather cute," and she got this dreamy look on her face that made Nico wonder if he looked like that when he thought of Will "I am leaving. I know you don't like people hovering over you, and it's never good to leave Percy alone for extended periods of time"

"You are dating a child, Annabeth"

"Look who is talking, you had a crush on him. You liked his child like behavior as well. Anyway, I better go, before you summon something, you have that look. Bye," and she left in a hurry. Good thing, because he was about to turn her into a ghost. However, Nico was relieved that he had the talk with Annabeth, there was no possibility of him and Percy being together, ever, but he still felt guilty. He was rude to her and it wasn't her fault that he had stupid feelings for him. She was a good person, and she certainly didn't deserve his attitude.

He went back to his book. He was not sleeping tonight, apparently, his new life goal was to finish the seven books in one day, a ridiculous one for some people, but it is not as if he was doing anything else. Besides, reading kept his mind of Will, he didn't go to check on him as usual and what if they never talk again after what happened. He was getting used to Will's happy moods and that smile that seemed to light up everything around him, like the sun was shining upon him, and those eyes that could look right through his soul and know his thoughts and feelings. Yep, he was in trouble.

* * *

Will spend the entire day walking around camp. After he pushed his way out of the infirmary, (they had attracted quite the crowd with their little argument) he went to his cabin; at that time of the day, it was alone. He sent a silent prayer to his father, asking for guidance, of course, Apollo didn't answer, something bad must have happened to him, he have to ask Percy about it. His father had always been a constant in his life, yes, most of the dreams he sent were jokes or terrible poetry, but every time Will had needed him, he had been there with an advice, sometimes an extremely terrible one, but the important thing was that his father listened to him. Now, that he needed him the most, he was gone.

He knew that the things he said to Nico were only the truth, but he should not have said them like that. Nico deserved better than that. They were doing great, he was still the brooding type, but he was letting Will in, little by little, and now they were back to square one. Well, he was persistent, and he was not letting Nico go so easily.

He went to the infirmary to cover the night shift, mostly out of guilt; he was the Head Doctor and he just dumped everything and left this morning without checking patients. He got in; everything should have been pitch black, except there was a tiny light at the end of the corridor. He wasn't surprised, but he still expected Nico to be sleeping at this hour.

He approached quietly and saw Nico through an opening in the curtains; he was reading _"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"_ He must have spent all day reading. A smile was spreading across his face. Nico loved the books. Good, because he honestly didn't know if he could be with someone who didn't love those books. It was a deal breaker. He wanted to say something, but Nico had the reading position he liked to call: DO NOT ENGAGE. He needed a haircut; his dark hair was falling over his eyes, so he constantly had to move it aside. You know what? Forget the haircut. He looked good and Will imagined himself combing Nico's hair with his fingers, being the one to move it aside, so he could read without disturbance. He got a stupid smile on his face. Yep, he was a goner.

Nico must have been extremely focused on his reading, he didn't notice anyone approaching. He lifted his eyes for a moment, they were burning, and he had been reading all day non-stop. "Just one more chapter and then I go to sleep," he said to himself. He looked up and saw Will there, contemplating him, as if he was the most fascinating thing in this world.

"Hi, how long have you been there?" he blushed a bit.

"For a while. You were so focused on the book and I didn't want to interrupt you" Will looked down, this was the first time Nico had seen him look insecure "I assume you like them"

"Yeah, they are pretty cool. Not Harry, though, he is kind of an idiot and Dumbledore is like the Gods, saying all the time that Harry didn't need to know stuff because he couldn't understand. Harry is sort of dense, but not that dense." and Will smiled, but he was still standing away, Nico motioned for him to get in and sit on the bed. He wanted to discuss the book with someone. Will rewarded him with another big smile and sat down.

"I know what you mean. I love the books, but Harry is the type of person you hate for no particular reason. Regarding Dumbledore, you haven't seen anything yet. I mean the guy can manipulate"

"Dude, no spoilers, or I'll send you to hell, I can do it and you know it," they were both laughing and then Will was just staring at him "What? Do I have something on my face or Voldemort on the back of my head?"

"I think this is the first time I've seen you laughing. It looks good on you. You should laugh more often" there was an uncomfortable silence after that; they were avoiding each other's eyes.

"I'm sorry," they said in unison and they were laughing again "We should keep it down" whispered Will "or we are going to wake up the entire infirmary"

"Too late dude, but you can keep it down from now on," someone said down the hall and they started laughing.

"Sorry," said Will. The laugh died and Will was looking at Nico with a serious expression "I'm really sorry about this morning, I shouldn't have treated you like that"

"You were right about the things you said. I don't know how you do it, but you always seem to know what is going on in my head. Anyway, I'm sorry too for trying to leave this morning. I'm not used to people watching me in my weakest moments"

"Showing emotions is not a sign of weakness, Nico. On the contrary, it helps you deal with whatever you are facing. Last night, you let go of everything you've been holding up for years. Let me ask you something. How do you feel now?"

"Better, actually," He felt a little embarrassed telling this, but Will was the only person he could talk about it "I didn't have nightmares last night. I haven't slept so soundly in years and I think is all thanks to you" He gave Will the hint of a smile.

There was a silence after that. It was a comfortable silence. A silence that said they understood each other and they didn't need words to express their thoughts and feelings.

Will decided to break the silence "I had a huge crush on Draco, you know"

At this, Nico was baffled, so Will was gay after all, but a crush on that kid. For real? "Draco Malfoy? The spoiled brat? Seriously, Solace. I thought you had better taste" he didn't mean to say that, the words just came out of his mouth.

"Yeah, he is kind of spoiled, but he is cute and you have to keep reading. You get a new sense of his character on the final books. Besides, the actor that played him in the movies is one good-looking guy"

"So, you got a thing for blonds" Am I jealous of a crush? He wondered.

"No, just that particular blond, he is my blond crush. I prefer smart dark-haired guys, with dark eyes and a pale complexion. With a perpetual air of melancholy, because I know I will be able to change it for happiness" and he gave Nico one of his sunshine smiles.

Was Will flirting with him? Nico thought. He wasn't sure what to make of it. He didn't even know how to flirt, that's what they should teach in school, oh right, even if they did, he doesn't go to any school. He definitely needed to read a magazine or something to know what was going on. How was he supposed to say? Should he flirt back or change the topic?

"I probably should go to sleep now?" changing the topic was the course of action then "I've been reading all day and my eyes hurt. I kept telling myself: One more chapter"

"I know the feeling. Did you eat today?" Will looked a bit crestfallen

"One of your sisters forced me; it runs in the family I guess, forcing people to do stuff"

"Just stuff that will help you like you know, eating properly" He picked up the book from the bed and put it on the bedside table "Am I going to have to tuck you in? Because I'm not leaving until you turn off the lights and I know for sure that you are going to sleep, doctor's orders"

Nico rolled his eyes. He missed that phrase. He accommodated himself "Happy, Dr. Solace?"

"Yes, I am. Now Good Night. You better sleep, because I'm covering the graveyard shift, so I'll be here all night long and I will know if you don't" Will turned off the lights just to be sure and then he was closing the curtain when he heard Nico say

"Thanks for the cards, Will. I had no idea how much I've missed that game. We are definitely playing together"

"No problem at all Nico, like I said, you deserve happiness and if there's anything I can do to help, I'll do it without a doubt" and left.

* * *

I described my dream guy to him and he didn't get it, Will thought. Nico said Harry was dense, but apparently, he was denser. He was sitting in the supply cabinet, organizing and writing down things they needed. Perhaps he should be more obvious, maybe wear a t-shirt with NICO, I LIKE YOU in big, bold letters, so Di Angelo wouldn't miss the message he was trying to convey. Or write a letter, it would go like:

_Dear Nico,_

_I think you are hot and smart and we should totally date_

_Will._

The first option too straightforward and the second one was plain tacky. He needed to think fast, tomorrow was Nico's last day in the infirmary and he said he would stay at camp, but he could still change his mind. "Instead of thinking crazy plans you should tell him, face to face" Will was talking to himself now "Nico, I like you, you are a sweet human being and we should date"

"Sweet human being? What the hell was that Solace? You are better than that" he admonished and continued "Nico, I believe that when there is an attraction, one must act on it…" Will groaned, "One must act on it? Seriously, It's like I'm from the 50s, tonight is definitely not my night" He was going to rest, for now, tomorrow was a new day and maybe he would have better ideas by morning. Nico liked him, of that, he was sure, but Nico was too shy to say anything. So, it was Will's responsibility to make the first move, and with the Gods as his witnesses, that move is going to be so powerful that he would get Nico di Angelo forever.


	4. The one with Hades

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always had a crush on Sirius. It seemed appropriate. I hope you all like it and reviews are welcome.

Dawn was breaking, it was still dark, but it was just a matter of time before the sun started rising. It was Will's favorite time of the day, because every time the sun came up, he knew it was his father saying hello to humankind. It made him feel grateful that he was alive, that he survived for another day. He used to take that for granted, but after two wars and most of the people he had known since he was child had died, he promised himself to enjoy everything and go after what he wanted. Which is why at, he looked at his watch, five in the morning, he was still thinking about how to tell Nico about his feelings. What is worse, the T- shirt idea was number one on the list "I definitely need to get some sleep" he murmured. He still got an hour left to finish his shift.

He spent most of the night thinking about that and checking on patients, mostly Nico, just to make sure he was sleeping. He felt like a stalker, watching him in his sleep; let's face it, that is how most horror movies start. But, he couldn't help it. He looked like an angel when he was asleep, which was ironic taking into account that his father was the lord of hell. He went to his office and sat, he was exhausted, he spent the whole morning hiding and avoiding everyone and then he had to take the graveyard shift at the infirmary.

He reclined in his chair, and closed his eyes for the briefest of moments when he felt the door to his office closed, he opened his eyes to find a man standing there, and he sprang out of his chair thinking "stranger danger". The man was ridiculously tall, with big muscles and with blinding pale skin. He had dark eyes, they were different dark, it felt like you were staring directly into a pit. He had medium long black hair. It wasn't until Will noticed the black robes with what appeared to be screaming faces coming out of it and the opal ring that he realized the man was Hades, Lord of the Underworld and Nico's father.

He immediately bowed and greeted "Lord Hades" and noticed something else; he had a sword. Gods, he is going to kill me because I like his son, he thought, "May I ask what are you doing here?"

Hades was just staring at him and looked around the office with an expression that showed he didn't want to be there, at all. "You may ask, son of Apollo. That does not mean I have to answer" he kept staring at Will like he was trying to find out all his secrets and thoughts "What is your name?"

"Will Solace" he had a hard time swallowing, the guy was like a vampire in the daylight, he was intimidating and creepy "Are you here to see Nico?"

"I am the one who asks the questions. Moreover, if I wanted to see my son, why would I stop here?" he had a smirk on his face "I thought you were smart" he sat in the chair for visitors and motioned Will to do the same "What are your intentions with my son? And what is this move you are trying to pull off? You better be honest kid, I will know if you lie to me"

Holy shit, he wasn't expecting Hades to be so blunt, he was speechless "I… Uh…. So… hungry… What?" He must look like a babbling idiot in front of Nico's dad, but it was impossible for him to form a coherent thought in front of this guy, so he said the first thing that came to mind "How did you know about the move? And how do you know about Nico being gay? He hasn't told anyone yet" You had to ask that question, didn't you? , seriously Will, you have to pull yourself together man, he thought.

"I do not enjoy repeating myself, so what did I say about questions?" he gave Will his most evil look; he did not need his Helm of Darkness to inflict fear on people.

"You are the one who asks the questions, sir. I apologize, I was just curious"

"Curious people have the most interesting fates." He was quiet for a moment, just staring at Will. He decided to put the boy out of his misery "You talked to yourself a lot, Will Solace, and you said and I quote _"With the Gods as my witnesses"_ As far as I know I am a God and the one you are trying to, let's say move, is my son. While, on the subject, the T- shirt idea is preposterous, Nico certainly deserves something better than that. Regarding your other question, I deduced it a long time ago"

Now was Will's turn to answer. Hades was as honest as a God could be with his answers and he actually cared about his son. However, Will had a hard time talking, he was squirming under the God's stare and he dropped his eyes. The guy was unsettling, but Will was going to put on his big boy pants and answer honestly. So, he looked Hades straight in the eyes (not an easy thing to do) and poured his heart out

"I like Nico. Well, not like, the feelings I have are much greater than just a simple like. I want to be with him, I want to make him happy. I want to be the person who shows him that life can be so much more than what he decided to settle for. I want to be the one to give him hope. I want him to realize what an amazing person he is and that he deserves all the happiness in the world, and I want him to know that I am the one for him." He didn't avert his eyes from Hades' while he was saying this. He wanted to see the God's reaction, which was difficult. The Gods were hard to read, they knew how to keep emotions from showing, but he noticed a flash of something that could be admiration or hate in Hades' eyes, he wasn't sure, it could go either way. He remained quiet and was on the edge of his seat waiting for his answer.

"You forgot to answer the other question, what's the move?"

Will was relieved, it seemed stupid, the guy didn't say anything about what he just said, but if Hades wouldn't have liked it or suspected that there was a lie in there; he wouldn't be sitting here. He felt like he just passed a test. "I honestly don't know. For some reason is hard for him to believe that someone could care, he might not believe me. Do you have any advice?" asking the Lord of the Underworld for romantic advice, that's smart.

"I kidnapped my wife. I believe I am not qualified to give advice about romancing someone, especially that someone being my son. The only thing I can say be honest with him, but try to summarize what you said before in one sentence. It sounded desperate" he stood to leave.

Will stood as well "Is that it? You have no problem with me or with us being together?"

"Well, you are not Jackson. That would have been unfortunate. I do not have any problem with you and Nico" Will wanted to ask so many questions after that statement. Did Nico have a crush on Percy? But he decided not to push his luck. "I know I mentioned that I kidnapped my wife, which was okay for me to do it, I am a God after all, but you try to pull the same with Nico and I will have an army of ghost ready to hunt you down and destroy you. You will go straight to the Fields of Punishment" he gave Will an evil smile "Is that clear?"

"Crystal, sir." Hades left, in flames, of course, he had to make a big exit. People were going to ask if there had been a fire just for the smell, there was even a scorch mark on the floor. Will's legs turned to jelly and he slumped on his chair. He thought he was going to die, that Hades was there to kill him because he was going to pervert his son or something like that. Yeah, he threatened him, but he could handle that, he was not planning to hurt Nico. The Percy part, well, that was a shocker, the question is, was Nico in love with Percy? The way Hades said it imply that there might have been something. What if Will was the second choice? "Hell no, I am no one's second choice. I have to find out what exactly happened" Will murmured again, and then cursed himself, Hades might be listening and he did not want to spend an eternity in the Fields of Punishment. First things first, he was going to sleep, because his brain wasn't working properly and since Hades mentioned Percy, it has been picturing these two together (totally disgusting) and then he was going to get his man.

* * *

Nico woke up this morning feeling rested, he only had one nightmare last night and it was related to the books and Will. It went like this: they were in Hogwarts, Will was in Ravenclaw, and Nico was in Slytherin. He was going to become a Death Eater because in that dream Hades was Voldemort (They have the same aura of negativity). However, that was not the horrifying part. One day he was just walking through the castle, trying to find a good place to hide when he spotted them, Will was kissing Draco Malfoy, the spoiled brat.

Nico had had some terrible nightmares, apparently, Will kissing a guy that didn't even exist rated number one. Was he jealous of a character? For real? He needed to shake the sleep of him, all he needed was a good shower, a nice breakfast and continue with the books so he could hate Draco Malfoy even more.

Someone opened the curtains, he was hoping for Will, but he got the evil sister from yesterday. "Where is Will?" he asked, trying not to sound too desperate.

"He is resting, he got the graveyard shift. I am sure you know about it because a patient down the hall was complaining this morning that you too were being too noisy" she gave Nico a stern look "I don't know what you two have being doing here at night, but keep it down"

Nico was blushing, that sounded like they were doing something different "We were just talking and it wasn't even that loud; that other patient is just delicate"

She looked at him as if she didn't believe it "Whatever you say" she took Nico's arms, according to Will, the wounds should be healed by today "Let's take these off and see what we got" she said that like she was talking to a child. She should be grateful I am not allowed to use my powers, he thought.

The bandages came off, and there were tiny marks were the wounds used to be. Nico was happy; he didn't think those were going to heal, at least not completely. He thought he was going to live with those claw marks forever, instead, he got these miniature scars and they didn't hurt anymore. That healing song was amazing (Apollo's kids should make a CD and sell it to a big recording company; they would make millions ). The song did not only worked on his wounds, but also on him. Three days here and he felt like a new person. Will had been right; he needed that rest, not like Nico was going to admit it out loud or anything.

Will's sister was looking at him with a strange look on her face "What?"

"Nothing, I think I had never seen you smile before. You should do it more often" and she smiled at him, a big, sunny smile, definitely a daughter of Apollo. "Well, you are indeed leaving today. Since Will was the one who admitted you, you will have to wait when he comes this afternoon to discharge you. Don't forget to eat your breakfast." And she left.

Nico was leaving today. He was happy, but he wondered if Will would talk to him as much as he did before. Maybe he should talk to Will, instead of waiting for the other guy to say something. He could ask him out. They could go to the city and do something different. Nico was hopeful for a moment, but then he went to the dark side, thinking that Will was going to reject him, and the idea of him asking someone out was just ridiculous. He needed to clear his mind, eat something and have a nice shower. He looked at the nightstand and saw the books. Also, he needed to finish the books and then maybe he will have time to think about certain Doctor and ways to make him fall for him.

* * *

"These books are awesome," Nico said loud enough for everyone to hear. He should not have waited so long to read them. Everybody knew everything already. He felt so left out; what if someone gave him a spoiler? He would send that person directly to The Fields of Punishment (he had contacts down there; he could make it happen).

Right now, he had a crush on Sirius Black. He was planning to tell Will about it to make him jealous for a change. He was so captivated by the book that he didn't notice someone approaching until it was too late.

"So, what are you reading?" asked Percy, who was too close to Nico's comfort zone and practically put his head inside the book, making it hard for him to continue reading. The worst, Jason was with him, and the girls were not around. This can't be good for me, he thought.

"Percy, you are in the middle of my book. Could you please move your head before I smack it off your body?"

"Wow, dude calm down," he looked at Jason "Someone is in a mood"

Nico rolled his eyes "You interrupted my reading, off course I am in a mood."

"Well, you stopped reading, that means we can talk", said Jason "Percy told me what happened. Is he not your type? Because I could introduce you to some Romans. Some of them are really cute"

What the hell? Were they trying to fix him up? He could get dates on his own, thank you very much. He had never tried it, but he knew he could do it.

"I told you, Jason, he was not in his right mind. I am clearly his type. Maybe you should get him a guy like me, well, not like me, I'm unique. You are never going to find another guy with these amazing eyes, hair, and this great bod. But there might be someone close enough. What do you think?"

"There is this one. He is a son of Neptune, a great warrior, good person and I may have to give up my man card after this, but he is really dreamy." Said Jason, who actually had a dreamy expression on his face.

"Son of Neptune? That's close enough. Now, we….." He didn't finish, Nico couldn't take that ridiculous conversation anymore.

"Would you two stop it?" he slammed the book hard and hit Percy in the head with it "I certainly do not need your help to date someone, and even if I need it I wouldn't ask for it. Percy, you are not my type, get over yourself. Jason, I swear, if you say something to that guy about me, I will raise the dead and make them torture you for all eternity"

The boys were silent. It was the first time they heard Nico talk so much. "Well, you are chatty," said Percy, who was rubbing his head where Nico had hit it "I am sorry, Nico. We just wanted to help you and about the type thing, don't worry, I forgive you."

Nico wanted to strangle him. Percy could be annoying. He hadn't noticed that before. Thank the Gods that crush was gone. "You forgive me for what exactly?" there was an edge in Nico's voice that Percy knew too well. It was the same voice from that night when he split the earth and sent the Skeleton Warriors away. He decided to be smart and be quiet. He looked at Jason. It was his turn to say something.

"I am sorry too, Nico. I just… ouch" Percy elbowed him "I meant, we wanted you to be happy"

"If I am happy, It is going to be because of me. I don't want to put that responsibility on someone's shoulders. You can't depend on other people to make you happy" that gave Nico something to think about, but he needed to get rid of these two first "I know you mean well, but seriously, sometimes I think you are just trying to piss me off."

"Perhaps, but we kind of need to know. What's your deal? Blonds? Brunettes? Tall? Short?"

"It's none of your business. I…," he couldn't finish, while he and Jason were talking, Percy had been rummaging in the bag with the books. He squealed with excitement when he found the Mythomagic cards and Will's note. Percy was going to make a big deal out of it.

"Poseidon's beard" he had been using that phrase lately, it was going to be the new OMG "He likes you. That's why he asked me about you the other day."

Nico was blushing and he took the cards from Percy "It's nothing like that, he wanted to cheer me up and that was it."

"Bro, would you mind giving me some context?" asked Jason who was lost. Nico took the cards before he could see anything.

"Will likes Nico. And that note, it's a date waiting to happen. Why else would he go to such extents to get you those cards? You can't exactly buy those here. Trust me I know about these things."

Percy had a point there, but Nico needed to get them out of there. Those two were now making plans to get Will and Nico together. "What makes you an expert? It took you four years to kiss Annabeth."

"It was a slow move, okay. I knew what I was doing."

"Four years? For real? I am not going to lie, bro. I am disappointed."

"Like I said, slow move. I had it under control, I even got her to kiss me first" he turned to Nico "You are not going to distract me. We have to…" Nico raised his hand and stopped Percy.

"I want you to leave, now. I do not want or need your help and if you two say anything to Will about this conversation, you are going straight to hell. Or if you prefer I know someone who could turn you into pigs. How would you like that?"

"Dude, calm down. We are leaving, but this is far from over. Percy and I will do some research about this guy just to make sure that he is good for you." Since Nico wasn't sure that he could use his powers, he threw the books at them. One hit Percy right on his nose and the other one hit Jason on the back of his head while he was escaping. They left in a hurry yelling, "Run for your life."

"Great, now I have to get up and pick up the books." He got up of that cozy bed, picked up one book, and he didn't need to retrieve the other one, Will was standing there with the book in his hand, a beautiful smile on his face and those big blue eyes; one could just drown in them. He was wearing jeans, flip-flops, and the camp orange Tshirt. His usual doctor attire. He looked so good in those.

"Why is _The Order of the Phoenix_ on the floor? These books are like the American flag, they must not touch the floor" he had his nagging face on "Also, why were Percy and Jason yelling in my infirmary? This is a place for healing not yelling."

"They were being annoying. Since I am not allowed to do Underworld-y stuff, I attacked them with the only thing I had in hand." He sat on the bed, and patted the spot next to him, inviting Will to sit. He smiled and sat too. He took Nico's arms and hands checking the wounds.

"I just talked to Anna. She told me that you were in perfect condition and she was right. You can leave today" was that sadness in his voice? Nico wondered "She also told me that you were smiling. I can't believe I missed it."

"I couldn't help it. I never thought I would heal completely of those wounds" he noticed that Will hadn't let go of his hands "Will, you are holding my hands."

"It's for medical reasons. I am checking your temperature and everything as we speak" he looked Nico in the eyes and held his hands for a few more minutes and let go. Nico felt the lost instantly. He saw Will taking stuff out of a bag, he didn't even notice Will had brought a bag. You could definitely get lost in those stupid eyes of him.

"You can't leave the infirmary with that dressing gown. I brought something for you to wear." He gave Nico the bundle of clothes. He was surprised, it was a black t-shirt with a skull pattern and black jeans "I'll figure you would like to come back to your old style. You can't pull off the dressing gown style and I threw away the Hawaiian t-shirt. I hope you don't mind."

"Trust me, I don't. Thanks, you have no idea how much this means to me" he was touched by Will thoughtfulness, first the cards, now this. He couldn't just leave the infirmary today and not talk to Will anymore. He had to do something, but Will started talking before he could think of something.

"Well, I leave you now. I have to check other patients; you can go change and you'll finally be free." He gave Nico a sad smile and left.

He wanted to call him back and say something, but what? He was pretty sure that "Will you are hot, let's date" was tacky and inappropriate. He would have to think fast. Nico was going to leave today with a date. Well, maybe not a date, but a promise that they would meet again to talk about stuff. There was a little smile on his lips. He finally had a plan or something like that.

* * *

Will was waiting outside the infirmary for Nico. He was thinking what he was going to say "I think we should meet again, you know, to talk and be awesome together." What? Be awesome together? He groaned, this was not going well. He still had no idea what to say and the only thing that came to mind was to ask Nico whether he liked Percy or not. That question was at the tip of his tongue this morning when he saw Jackson there. What was he doing here anyway? It is not like he was BFF with Nico or anything. Stop thinking about it, Solace. This is not helping.

He heard someone coming. He turned around and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Nico coming out of the infirmary. Beautiful is not usually a word people used to describe a man, but Nico looked beautiful, healthy and like he wasn't carrying the world on his shoulders anymore. The black t-shirt and black pants made amazing things for his pale complexion. His dark hair fell in front of his eyes and that gave him the look of a heart breaker. The best part, Nico had this tiny smile on his face. That's the kind of smile that would make a man do crazy things just so he could see it again. Nico stopped in front of him and he set those gorgeous dark eyes on him. You could drown in them and be happy for the rest of your life.

"Is there something on my face? You are staring at me" Nico asked. Great, he must think you are an idiot that can't form words, thought Will.

"No, you look healthy. Black is definitely your color." There were so many words he could say, but he said healthy. What kind of compliment is that? "I see you got the books there"

"Yes, I hope you don't mind. I am probably going to finish them in like three days. It is impossible to put them down."

"I know, I was so excited when the last one came out that I read all those 800 pages in one day."

"I feel challenged. I am going to finish that book in half a day. That is my life goal now."

"Let's make it a bet. If you don't finish that book in half a day you will have to spend the day with me in the infirmary, you know, passing bandages, bringing me food and stuff. To sum up you will be my slave." Not exactly a date, but it was something. There was not a chance that Nico could finish that book in half a day. They will spend the whole day together.

"What do I get if I win?" Nico had a gleam in his eyes. He liked challenges.

"I'll be your slave. I'll help you with the renovation of your cabin and anything you might need or want." Oh yes, that was a win-win for Will. Regardless the result, he would spend time with Nico. I am a genius, he thought.

"That's fair. You may have a lot of patients, but we are going to have to build that cabin from scratch. I recommend you to rest because I am winning that bet and you will be doing all the work."

"you wanna shake on it?" they shook hands and close the bet like gentlemen. They hold the handshake longer than necessary. Neither of them wanted to let go. Nico did it first.

"I have to go. I'm sure you have patients to see and I have a bet to win. Thanks for everything." He gave Will one of those cute tiny smiles, waved goodbye and left.

Will felt optimistic. He watched Nico leave. Those pants were definitely perfect for him. "I need to distract myself with something. I can't keep staring at him." He said and was about to go in when Nico turned around and approached him.

"I was wondering if you were free after dinner tonight. I thought we could talk about _The Chamber of Secrets_ and _The Prisoner._ I have a crush on someone in the books and I know he is way better than your Malfoy."

"I don't think so, Malfoy is cool. And yes I am free tonight. I'll see you then." Nico left again. Neither said the word date, but that was a date alright. Will was going to make the best of it. He went into the infirmary with a huge grin on his face. For the first time in his life, he didn't care about those patients. He had a non-date to prepare for.

* * *

Nico was pleased with himself. He technically asked Will out. Yeah, he didn't say the word date, but it was something. Moreover, since he was winning that bet, he was going to get Will for a whole day. He better starts reading then. He got into the cabin and he was whistling. Nico di Angelo was whistling. Now, that was a sight to behold. Thank the Gods there was no one there to see him.

He was wrong, near the altar at the far corner of the cabin, there was a man standing there. He was wearing the monk robes from the last time he saw him. "Father? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" there must be something wrong, his father was not the type to visit for good reasons at all.

"Must something be wrong for me to see my son?" asked his father meeting Nico's eyes.

"Not exactly, but you must admit that is your usual MO."

"Perhaps, but I do try to have some sort of relationship with you. How is Jules-Albert? Is he a good driver?"

"Yes, he is. But is kind of difficult to make friends when your chauffeur is a zombie" he put down the bag of books "Why are you here, father?"

"Straight to the point. That is one of your best qualities. I am here to tell you that I know and you should stop worrying about what I would think or say. You are my son, and I want you to be happy."

"What do you mean you know? Oh…." It dawned on Nico what was his father referring to. He blushed, hard, having this conversation with his father was going to be awkward.

"I'm sorry, father."

"Why are you sorry? It doesn't matter to me. You are a good son. It would be stupid of me to reject you because of whom you decide to love. It's your life, you are the only one who can decide what to do with it. I am proud of you Nico." said his father.

He wasn't expecting that from Hades. He certainly never thought that he could make his father proud. His dad was really trying to reach out to him. It could not be easy for the Lord of the Underworld to say those things; he had a reputation to maintain.

"I…. You… I don't know what to say. You really don't mind?"

"I don't. I know about that boy, the son of Apollo. I like him." Hades was smiling. That was a rare sight.

Nico was blushing again. He definitely needed to get a tan. He was tired of people noticing his feelings because his face was always red. "How do you know about him?"

"Where do you think the heart-shaped bones came from? You can't just find them lying around. They are specially made." The smile change from warm to mischievous.

"Of course, you were responsible for the bones. Why didn't I think of that before?" and now Nico was smiling. He should have known "What do you think about him?"

"He is… interesting and he is not Jackson. For that reason only, I like him. And yes, I knew about that. You talked about him, a lot. However, you finally came to your senses" he put his hands on Nico's shoulders. Neither of them was fond of physical contact, but somehow it was okay that day "That boy is fine, he is worthy of you." He stopped the contact before it could get awkward "I must go now. The Underworld can't run by itself. If you want to visit for a weekend maybe, I will have a room ready for you."

"Thanks, dad. I will visit. I promise."

"Bring that boy with you if you want. Separate bedrooms of course." He smiled and disappeared leaving a blushing Nico behind.

He had no idea his father could make jokes that could make Nico uncomfortable. He was glad he had that conversation with him. That was a weight lifted off his shoulders. Hades didn't mind, he liked Will and most importantly he was proud of him. Nico's cheeks hurt from smiling, but he couldn't help it. He had never had reasons to be this happy before. Now he understood that silver lining thing.

Now that Hades was gone, he remembered that he needed to prepare for his not-date tonight. But first, reading, he got a bet to win. Will was going to be his.


	5. The one with love

Today's dinner was taking longer than usual. Nico couldn't for the life of him understand why. The Romans were gone. There was no need for anything special, at all. However, Nico felt like he had been there for years. It is a scientific fact that whenever you wish time to go faster, that idiot goes slower just to piss you off. It was all science's fault. Stupid science.

He was alone in his table, same as Percy and Jason. It was not fair that they had to sit alone. They should change that division. It made Nico felt lonelier. Also, he couldn't help noticing that the representatives of the Big Three were boys. It looked a little sexist if you asked him. However, there were reasons for that; Percy was technically the only demigod son of Poseidon. Thalia decided to go immortal because of the prophecy (which sounded stupid to him) and on Nico's side, Hazel was a roman and Bianca died.

Now, Bianca should be there instead of him. She was better than he was at everything. She was smarter, stronger, and nicer. Even his father said it once. Oh no, he was slipping to his dark side again. "Bad thoughts, bad thoughts. Do not go to the dark place, Nico. Go to your happy place, think of sunny things." He murmured to himself. He looked at Apollo's table and there was Will laughing at something one of his brothers had said. He looked amazing. He usually wore a camp orange t-shirt or his scrubs, but tonight he was wearing a shirt. It was blue, like his eyes, and he was wearing pants. Actual pants, not bermuda shorts. He was all dressed up and was looking hotter than usual. Nico looked at himself, he was wearing the same clothes he was that afternoon when he left the infirmary. The only different thing was his hair; he combed it. It was not an easy feat; his hair could be crazy. He sometimes thought the thing had a mind of its own.

On one side, there was Will Solace, who was looking damn sexy. On the other side, Nico di Angelo, who was looking like a Goth kid, with great hair yes, but still. He should have worn something different, but he didn't have much and the other option was asking Percy or Jason for clothes and that was a big no. They would be giving him tips on how to seduce Will or something, awkward situation and a bit weird. It didn't matter anyway. Looks fade with time after all. He was going to seduce Will with his personality, his dark, weird, gloomy personality. Everybody likes that, right? Nico groaned. This was not going to be easy, but then, when has life been easy for him?

Calm down, Nico. He thought. You are getting all work up for nothing. You two are just going to talk about books, and about stuff, maybe a kiss at the end of the night. Now, his mind was too happy, picturing all types of kissing scenarios. He was smiling to himself.

"I have to admit I am jealous that I am not the one who put that smile on your face," whispered someone in his ear

Nico jumped out of his seat, thinking immediately of DANGER. He didn't have a weapon close, so he took the plate in his hand to hit whoever was attacking him. However, that danger turned out to be Will, looking like a God, with a big smile on his face and that perfect blond hair. "Holy Hades, Will. What were you thinking sneaking up on me like that? I almost hit you with this." He was waving the plate around to show Will how close he had been to death.

Will was grinning, "I'm pretty sure I would have survived. I can block a plate you know. Did you even hear what I said? I'm thinking you didn't like it. You tried to attack me."

"Yes, I did. The thing is you can't just sneak up on people like that. I could have killed you."

"With a plate?"

"I have many skills, Solace. I could kill you with my mind if I wanted." He finally put the plate down. He had been pointing at Will with it and he looked ridiculous holding that.

"I don't doubt it. Let's start over. I said I was jealous because that smile you had before was not my doing. Besides, everybody was leaving and you were just there staring into space. I wanted to know why." Said Will. Everything came so easily to him. How is that possible? How was he supposed to answer that?

"There was no particular reason. I was just smiling because that is what I do now. I smile." He shrugged like it was not such a big deal that he, Nico di Angelo was smiling.

"You know, I wanted to believe that smile was because we were meeting today after dinner. Apparently, I was wrong. Anyway, where do you want to go?"

Nico hadn't thought about it. It should be far enough from people, but not so far that they were going to be attacked by the patrol harpies, thinking they were going to escape or that people were going to think they were doing something different than talking. Not that they were going to do something different or anything. "Why don't we go to the Firework Beach? There are not going to be fireworks today, so it would probably be empty now." That sounded like he was planning to do something, which he was not.

"Perfect. Let's go."

They started walking towards the beach. Some people were giving them strange looks. Nico was starting to feel uncomfortable. Perhaps they couldn't believe that Will could talk to him outside the infirmary; maybe they thought that he felt pity and that was the only reason he wanted to be friends with Nico. Thank the Gods the beach wasn't that far from the mess hall because he was going to his dark place again.

He shouldn't feel the need to remember himself that he was a good person, someone who deserved love, someone that was allowed to be happy. However, sometimes he felt like he was nothing, that no one cared about him and that's when the self-encouragement words came to him. He was making a better life for himself. He was not going to listen anymore to those voices in his head telling him that he wasn't enough. He was awesome, sort of. And looking at Will, he knew that he had a good chance at happiness. He was not going to make him the sole center of his life, of course, that was just naive. Yet, Nico was aware that Will was part of this new him.

They reached the beach. Will pointed a tree trunk (Why is there always a tree trunk at the beach?) and sat there waiting for Nico to sit. He did, they were looking into each other's eyes, like actors in a crappy romance movie.

"You looked good tonight." Said Will, looking at Nico up and down and smiling. It's like somebody likes what he sees, he thought, feeling a bit smug

"Why? I am wearing the same thing I was wearing this afternoon. There is nothing special going on." Answered Nico. He still couldn't help putting himself down sometimes.

"You don't understand, do you? It's not the clothes, although, I'm pretty sure you are the only one who can pull off wearing so much black. It's you. Since you left the infirmary you have a different aura. You seem healthier, happier and I must say, sexier."

Nico was officially looking like a tomato. Will could be blunt, but Nico was smiling, because Will thought he was sexy. Quick, he thought, say something nice about his clothes "You are wearing pants." Nico facepalmed so hard he almost broke his nose. _You are wearing pants?_ What the hell? This would be a nice time for his father to manifest by opening up the earth and swallow him. Will was quiet for a moment and then he started laughing, hard.

"Of course, I am wearing pants. Why? Were you expecting me not to wear any? Because I can take them off if you want to." He stood up and went for his belt buckle. He was seriously going to take his pants off.

"No, no, no. I didn't mean it like that. You always wear bermuda shorts and today you are wearing long pants. That's it; there is no need for you to take off your pants." Nico was red. Why did he have to be so pale? He was definitely going to get a tan.

"You sure? I have no problem with that. I have nice legs and I am wearing funny underwear today."

"Yes, I am sure. Please, sit down. I was just trying to say that you look nice too."

Will sat down again "You could have said that. Although, it wouldn't have been that funny. You are really cute, Nico."

Nico groaned. He was tired of people thinking that of him. He was not cute, not by a long shot "Why do you say I'm cute? I am not. Did you know that I can raise an army of dead people and start a war with them? The dead fear me. I could turn you into a ghost. Hell, I am the Ghost King." He said, standing up and pointing at no one in particular, just exasperated that people think of him as cute. He looked at Will. It was obvious that he was trying hard not to laugh.

"So, if I were a ghost, you would be my King. That's cool. Do I have to call you Your Majesty or Your Grace?" He stood up and bowed to Nico "Your Majesty" said he in a solemn voice.

"I am about to hit you in the face with that big rock over there." Why did Will have to be so awesome? He had to admit the "Your Majesty" made him tingle all over.

"Come on. Don't be so violent. I am just teasing you. I want to see you smile again. Why don't we sit down and talk? We were supposed to be discussing the books not how awesome and sexy we both are." Will winked at him.

That stupid, cute winky face just made Nico wanted to hit him hard, but he was not going to give Will the satisfaction to be the bigger man here. He sat and looked at Will, waiting for him to start the conversation.

"Who is your crush? I've been trying to guess all afternoon. I'm sure is not Ron Weasley. He doesn't seem like your type. But, again I don't know what your type is," Will was thinking deeply about something "It just occurred to me that I described you my perfect guy, but you never described yours. Spill the beans, di Angelo."

Nico was blushing, again. Stupid pale complexion. He didn't exactly have a type. He liked Will, he could have had dark hair, he could have been short and wear long pants all day. He would still be Will, his Will, not that Will was something to possess. Gods, just answer the question already. "You shared because you wanted. I don't know what's my type. I think I am typeless."

"Everybody has a type. Even if it just hair color. Who is your crush anyway?"

"Believe it or not, Sirius Black." Nico was holding his breath, waiting for Will's reaction. He was prepared for a _are you kidding me?_ look. He was not expecting that wolfish grin on Will's face.

"I get it. In _Order of the Phoenix,_ I kind of had a thing for the guy too, but Draco won. His character is more complex than Sirius. People always assume that the world is either black or white, good or bad, but what happens when you are neither? Sometimes you don't have a choice, like Draco, he didn't choose to be evil, evilness was bestowed upon him at birth. In the end, it's all about family expectations I guess."

Family expectations, interesting, he hadn't thought of that. However, this was Will Solace, the guy could read a person's emotions from miles away. He would understand the misunderstood character. Nico was smiling, talking to him did that to a person. "Will, I had no idea you could be so smart. By the way, that felt like a spoiler."

"That was not a spoiler. And You wound me, I am incredibly smart."

"Yes, you are. But, what you said was an insight into his character. You just robbed me of the opportunity to discover that by myself."

"Sorry, I just like that character. A lot."

"You've made that clear before, thanks," said Nico feeling jealous. Jealous of someone who doesn't even exist, if I wasn't in trouble before, I am now, he thought. "I do have a question about Sirius. He is Harry's godfather and he just wanted to see him, right? Why on earth did he show up as a gigantic dog? Did he thought the great Harry Potter was not going to be scared of a dog that might kill him?"

"Yeah, he didn't make much sense, but the guy had been in prison for 12 years. Probably his common sense was not working properly." Will got closer and looked everywhere to make sure nobody was around like he had a big secret to share. "You know, there is a theory that Sirius and Remus were a thing while they were in Hogwarts. What do you think?"

"I didn't get that in the story. I mean they are good friends, best friends. James and Sirius accepted Remus for what he was. Maybe they just had a bromance like Percy and Jason." Although, now that he was thinking, it made sense and he couldn't stop picturing those two together. He was going to have to bleach his brain after this.

"Speaking of. Percy and Jason were following me around today and asking me weird questions. Do you know anything about that?"

Nico facepalmed again. He should stop doing that or he was going to finish this night with broken bones. What were those two up to now? It couldn't be good for him. "What did they ask you exactly?"

"They asked me about my favorite color. My favorite book and movie, then the questions moved to a weird territory. They asked me if I would die for the person I love. My ideal date and the person I would like to be on that date. If I like to play hard to get with a potential date. If I had cheated on someone. They even asked me if I was a virgin and the most disturbing thing, they were writing the answers down. What are they planning to do with that?" Will was looking worried now.

Father, I'm begging you. Open up the earth and swallow those two, Nico thought. This must be what normal teenagers felt when their parents talked to their crushes and embarrassed them by asking weird questions and showing them childhood pictures. Except, in this case, it was not his father but two of the most meddling friends anyone could ever have "Don't mind them. I am certain they are not planning to do anything weird with that. Although, I am surprised, why did you answer all the questions anyway?"

"They were in the middle of the infirmary and they were not moving. I figured it was easier to answer them."

"Next time, call Annabeth. She knows how to make him behave." Will was looking at him all serious. It was weird, he spent most of his time winking and smiling. So whatever he was going to say next, it was probably something Nico didn't want to hear.

"Nico, I want to know something. I want you to be honest with me. Are you in love with Percy?"

That was surprising. Nico was blushing, he was opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of the water. Why was Will asking him that? Had he been that obvious with his feelings? They were supposed to be talking about books, not this. He didn't like where this was going. Why was he bringing this to the conversation? He definitely couldn't catch a break.

* * *

Will was holding his breath, waiting for Nico's answer. It was all or nothing here. He was not going to be the second choice, someone to be with just because Percy could never reciprocate Nico's feelings. He was not going to be an experiment because he just realized something. He loved Nico. It took him only three days to fall like an idiot for him. However, he was not going to be with Nico just because it was convenient. He was not going to give all his love to someone who was not going to love him back.

"Why are you asking me that?"

Gods, he was not denying, did that mean he still had feelings for Percy? "Just answer the question, please. I need to know."

"I am not in love with Percy, nor have I ever been. I had a crush on him, but I realized later that it was not going to work. It turned out he is not my type."

"I thought you were typeless," Will was smiling, relieved. He was also smiling at Nico's posture. He looked so stiff. Any minute now, he would try to run away from him. He was not going to allow that. He was getting a kiss tonight.

"I am typeless. You know I should probably go. It's getting late and honestly, I don't want to talk about this anymore." Nico stood up and started walking away from him. Will said the only thing that knew was going to keep Nico from leaving.

"I like you, Nico." As expected, that stopped him "I want to be with you and the only reason I brought Percy into the conversation was because I needed to be sure that you had no feelings for him. I am not planning on sharing you with anyone. I do not like to share."

Nico didn't turn around, but he was not leaving, that was good-ish. "Why?" he asked, his voice faint "Why would you want to be with me? I'm nothing special, I'm just. Me."

Will was getting angry now. Why does Nico always have to diminish himself like that? He walked up to him, put his hand on Nico's shoulders and turned him. He wanted Nico to look at him straight in the eyes. "That's where you are wrong. Just you, it's the most amazing human being I have ever met. You are awesome Nico di Angelo. And I want to tell you that every single day, so you don't forget it." He was staring into those huge, dark eyes of his "Do you like me?" Please, please, please, say yes.

Nico didn't say anything for a while. He was taking his time to answer the question. Will was getting nervous. What was there to think? They were meant to be together. He could not – would not - take no for an answer.

"I do, I like you. A lot, but I don't think…" Will didn't let him finish. Those first words were all the encouragement he needed to do what he'd been thinking of doing since Nico decided to stay at Camp. He grabbed the back of Nico's head and kissed him with everything he got inside.

Damn, he was kissing Nico di Angelo. It was better than anything he could have dreamed, and he had been dreaming about this, a lot. Nico resisted, at first, but one of Will's hand went to his hair, the other was anchored on Nico's back to keep him from escaping. He bit on Nico's bottom lip and whispered, "Let me kiss you properly. Unless you don't think you are up to the challenge." He winked at Nico and gave him his most powerful pout.

That was the right thing to say and do. There was a fire in Nico's eyes. He pulled Will closer by the belt loops closing the distance between them. This time, he was the one who initiated the kiss. His hands on Will's waist. Will caught his breath. The kiss was pure fire. He was slipping into oblivion, the world could end now, and he wouldn't even notice. He was only aware of Nico's soft hair, Nico's mouth. The feel of his hands. Nico was clutching at Will's shirt as if his life depend on it. It was the best kiss ever.

There was a problem, though, they would have to come out for air at some point. Will didn't want the kiss to end, but it did, too quickly. He was looking at Nico's eyes which looked darker if that was even possible. He was cupping Nico's face and put a final kiss on his forehead "You are a dream come true, Nico."

It was the wrong thing to say. Nico immediately pushed Will away "I… That was… I have to go now. I have things to do." And he left. Will felt heartbroken. Who left after a kiss like that? A kiss that put all other kisses to shame "You don't leave a guy after you kissed him. That's just rude." Will yelled after Nico.

"Real classy Will. That should bring him back." Said a voice behind Will. He jumped back when three figures appeared literally out of nowhere. They were Percy, Jason, and Lou Ellen.

"Holy shit, you almost gave me a heart attack. What the hell were you thinking? " then Will started thinking, they came so fast. That could only mean one thing. "Have you been there the whole time?"

"Hell yeah. You thought we were just going to let you defile Nico." Said Jason, who was looking Will up and down like he wanted to fight him or something.

"Defile? What are you talking about? Are you his bodyguard or what? Because let me tell you something, he doesn't need one. Nico is perfectly capable of defending himself."

"Boys, stop it. Don't try to act all macho. No one is buying it. We are supposed to be helping here" Lou Ellen put his hand on Will's arm "That was beautiful, what you said to him. I had no idea you felt that way. I kind of want to kiss you now to see what's all the fuss."

"She is right Jason. About the help, not the kiss part. He is clearly perfect for Nico," he looked at Will "Dude, you have to go after him. Nico is always running away from his feelings. You got to run faster than him."

"That is the most stupid thing I have ever heard, but he's got a point; go after him and don't you give up on the pale one," said Lou Ellen pushing Will to the direction of the cabins. Using the nickname she had for Nico.

Will hugged her. She was his best friend. He knew she meant well, sort of. "I don't appreciate you using your power with the mist to spy on me. Especially with those two." Will looked at Percy and Jason "I am going to have words with you later, this isn't over. But, right now, I'm getting my pale one." Damn it, now he got the nickname. He had to remember not to use in front of Nico. He started running towards the cabins. He was not letting Nico rationalize everything and minimize the kiss. Oh no, Will was not going to let that happen.

* * *

" _You don't leave a guy after you kissed him. That's just rude."_ Apparently that was Nico's move, to kiss and leave. He ran from the beach to his cabin, got in and locked the door. He didn't want anyone to get in without his permission and for the first time, he was grateful to be the only one in there. He needed time to think and to regroup himself before facing Will again.

He sat on his bed. Nico touched his lips. They felt puffy for all the kissing. That was his first kiss and It had been…He didn't know. He couldn't find an adjective that would fit all the emotions that went through him during that kiss. There were no words to describe it. Time stopped, it felt like that kiss lasted an eternity. Will tasted like sunshine, well, he imagined that if the sunshine had a taste it will be like the one on Will's lips. Nico groaned, why did he have to run away?

He ran his hand through his hair, which was a mess again thanks to Will's soft hands. He honestly wasn't expecting the kiss to go like that. He thought since it was their first kiss that it would be awkward and short. Boy, he was wrong. Will was mischievous; he knew that by taunting Nico, he would forget about the awkwardness and focus on winning, which he totally did.

That was the kiss of a lifetime, he should have stay and talk about it, but nope, he ran. He didn't run away when monsters were attacking him, but a cute guy kissing him, that is the most dangerous thing in the world. How was he going to face Will tomorrow? He was wondering this when someone knock on his door.

"Open up, Nico. We have to talk." So, Will was not planning to wait until tomorrow to talk about it. He walked up to the door, his hand on the doorknob. He wanted to open it so badly and continue with the make out session, but he was just afraid of feeling too much. What if things didn't work out?

"Can we talk tomorrow? I can't do this right now, please"

"I would Nico, but I know you are going to talk yourself out of this. You can't do it, I won't let you, and you know why? Because I know we are meant to be."

Will sounded so sad. Nobody should be sad after a kiss like that. It was all Nico's fault.

"Please, Nico. I like you. I more than like you. And you like me too. That kiss just proved that we are inevitable."

Inevitable. He liked the sound of that. He mustered his courage and opened the door a bit. There it was Will, looking as gorgeous as ever. His lips were slightly swollen as well. He got this huge grin on his face that made Nico smile in return. Will could do that to him, make him smile just by being near.

"There you are" Will didn't give Nico time to think, he opened further the door and kissed Nico again. He could get used to this. He grabbed Will by his shirt to pull him closer and deepened the kiss. Damn, Will was right, they were inevitable. He should stop fighting it and let himself go. Time was going slow again, but, this time, a cool slow, not the slow from dinner time.

Nico broke off the kiss first to get some air and to make his brain start working again. He neurons stopped working every time Will was near, the kisses just made it worse. Will was pouting now. "Please, don't. I can't concentrate when you are pouting like that."

"Maybe that is my evil plan, for you to never concentrate on anything that isn't me." Will was holding his hand. It felt like Will said, meant to be.

"Are you checking my temperature, Dr. Solace?" he teased. Yes, he is teasing now.

"No, this time, there is no medical reason involved. I am just holding hands with this guy I liked, wondering if he would go out with me sometime."

"Perhaps." Nico didn't say anything else, he didn't want to sound to eager, but he was dancing on the inside.

"Perfect. I will think of the perfect place for us to hang out. I am going to leave now. I do need one good night kiss, though, you know. Doctor's orders."

Nico definitely loved that phrase now. "Well, when you put it that way." He leaned in and gave Will a peck on the lips "Go, that's enough for today. Unless, do you want to come in?" he was hesitant, but he wanted to make out some more, and anyone could see them outside the cabin.

"What could we possibly do inside?" Will wiggled his eyebrows in a seductive way.

"Don't go there. I thought I could teach you how to play Mythomagic. I owe you a lesson." And some kissing of course, but he didn't have to say that out loud. It was implicit.

"That sounds great, but remember the rules. Two people from different cabins can't be alone inside one."

"As I understand it, and correct me if I'm wrong," said Nico, all confident "The rules state that a BOY and a GIRL can't be alone together. Do you see a girl around?"

"You are evil, Mr. di Angelo," Will was smiling, big time "Now, let's go inside before someone decides to change that rule."

Nico let him pass. As soon as they were inside, Will pushed Nico against the closed door and started the make-out session. The perks of being gay, Nico thought. You could find a loophole that would make a rule useless, and two boys extremely happy.


	6. The one with the hickey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 6, I hope you like it and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.
> 
> Note: For me, Will is Percy's age.

It was a new day. The sun was shining. The sky was clear, there was not a cloud in sight and it was the bluest Nico had ever seen it, actually it was more than blue, it was Will's eyes blue, which was way better than the normal sky blue if you ask him. The birds were singing. The flowers were saying Hello to Nico as he made his way to the Arena.

Nico was happy, which was sort of freaking out everyone in camp. It was the first time they saw him smiling that much, and truth be told, Nico's face hurt because he had been smiling without interruption since that first kiss. It was the happiest he had ever been. Suddenly, the days were brighter. The food tasted better. The others campers weren't so annoying, and it was even possible for him to put up with Percy and Jason's nonsense.

While Nico was walking, he was thinking about Will. It has been five days. Five amazing days since that first kiss and they haven't stopped kissing. Will went to his cabin every night. They talked, kissed and ate. In those five days, Nico gained some of the weight he had lost in 4 years. He didn't look like a corpse anymore. Nico also spent the nights trying to explain Will the rules of Mythomagic, which was useless because Will got distracted and they ended up kissing, again. Nico never thought that he could be this happy and in peace.

"Gods, that smile is disgusting. Would you stop? I'm about to throw up my breakfast" said Lou Ellen punching him slightly in the arm.

"I thought you enjoyed my happiness," he smiled and put his arm around her. She was Will's best friend, Nico was not stupid, you always have to win over the best friend.

"You are smiling and hugging me. I am officially scared. Good thing I am going to kick your ass." Lou Ellen pushed him away and went running to the arena. Apparently, while he was in the infirmary, he promised her that they would practice sometime. He didn't remember that, but It was happening, he was just expecting to get turned into a pig or something.

Nico didn't mind the practice. He sort of needed it. Will finally gave him the all clear to do underworld-y stuff, but that didn't mean he should not practice with his sword. It's been a while since the last time he used it. So, here he was at 9:00 o'clock in the morning – another new thing, he liked mornings now- hoping not to get his ass kicked.

There were people in the Arena when Nico arrived. He didn't know campers were such early birds. He approached Lou Ellen, who was standing near some girls from Aphrodite Cabin. Now, he didn't know which one was weirder, Lou Ellen hanging out with those girls or those girls hanging out in the Arena. They were going do some practice by the looks of it. That is amazing, Nico thought. They can't always rely on Charmspeak to win a battle.

"Hi, Nico. How are you?" asked one girl – Nico could not for the life of him remember her name – with a huge smile on her face and perking up a bit at the sight of him.

"I am really good thanks" and the girl giggled. Why are girls always giggling? Then, she touched his arm and said, "Oh, I can see that. You are looking really good." And the nameless girl started to touch his arm up and down with her finger.

Nico looked at Lou Ellen and then at the hand who was currently checking his biceps (He didn't have any). He had always hated when people took liberties and touched him without asking. Why is it that some people think touching strangers was appropriate?

Just recently, Nico was allowing some of his friends to hug him for small amounts of time and, of course, Will, but that was totally different, he didn't mind Will touching him. Will's hands were so soft and warm, but also firm. Will's hands were powerful and refined at the same time, it came with being a doctor, he guessed. Nico craved Will's touch.

However, the hand that was touching him right now. Let's just say it might as well be Lycaon attacking him again. It felt alien. It felt abrasive. Also, the girl was smiling at him and it was getting extremely uncomfortable. Was she flirting with him? That was another new thing. Since Nico started smiling and being happy, girls were talking and flirting with him. Maybe because he lost the permanent scowl on his face. But, he didn't like it; first of all, he was gay, and second, it felt like he was cheating on Will.

Nico was about to remove the girl's hand when she moved her hand from his arm and put one finger on his neck. "Is that a hickey?"

Nico immediately covered his neck. Damn, he told Will not to leave any marks. Everything was bound to notice with his fair complexion. It was his fault too. He should buy a mirror, so he could check things like that. Nico didn't know how to explain it. He still wasn't ready to make the relationship public. His friends and Will's closest knew about them, but he didn't feel comfortable telling the whole camp about it. His closet door was half way open. Nico just needed a little push, but he wasn't there yet. So, he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"I fell and hit my neck with something." It was stupid, but it was the only thing he could think of in such a short notice.

"Unless the floor of your cabin is made of mouths. I am pretty sure that's a hickey." And she started giggling again with her friends.

"It's not a hickey." Replied Nico, who was about to send them to hell. He could do it easily, but that might be more trouble than it is worth.

"It is a hickey. Who is your girlfriend? Why are you so quiet about it? You know, I always thought that you like Annabeth, but it can't be her, she is dating Percy. So, who is it?"

That girl didn't breath while she said all that. Nico didn't know what to say, he was probably looking like a deer in headlights.

"He fell, didn't you hear him? Now, if you excuse us, I need to talk to Nico about something." She grabbed him by the elbow and took him outside the arena and towards the edge of the forest. She didn't want anyone hearing this conversation by mistake.

"Thanks, Lou Ellen. I wasn't sure what to tell her." He was so grateful Lou Ellen was there to save him from giving any explanation about the hickey.

"You could have told her that you have a boyfriend." Nico was not so grateful anymore. She was mad. Actually, mad was an understatement, if looks could kill, he'll be dead by now. Lou Ellen was a sweet girl, but she could be scary as hell when she put her mind to it, and right now? Nico wanted to run away and possibly move to a different country.

"You don't understand. It's not that easy. There are many things to take into consideration."

"Like what? Why didn't you tell her that you are dating Will? Are you ashamed of him? Is he not good enough for you?"

"Ashamed of him? Of course not, Will is amazing. I am just not ready to make it public. Like I said before, It is not an easy thing for me to do." She couldn't understand it. She couldn't understand the feeling he had that everyone would reject him as soon as they knew that he was gay. That people would look at him like he was a freak – they kind of did it sometimes, being the son of Hades and all that- but it would be worse if they knew that Nico liked boys.

"It is not so hard, di Angelo. Do you know why?" Lou Ellen was poking him in the chest with her finger and she had long nails "Because Will deserves to be acknowledged. He is not going to be your dirty little secret."

"You think I don't know that? You think I don't want to be with Will like a normal couple. I can't Lou Ellen because the truth is we are not normal by other people's standards. Besides, I am sure it can't be easy for Will either to be public about it."

"Everybody knows that Will is gay," She stated matter of factly. Nico was taken aback. Yes, Will was confident and everything, but he didn't think that his preferences were of a public matter.

"How? Did he organize a reunion and told everyone like it was their business?"

"Nothing like that. Will is handsome. It is gross for me to admit it, but he is. Girls flirted with him. In fact, Drew Tanaka made a move once, and he told her that he was not interested, because he liked boys."

Why not? Of course, someone like Will would be extremely open about it. How could he be so confident? He never cared what people thought of him. Will just shrugged it off and moved on. If only things were that simple for Nico.

"It's different for him, Lou Ellen. I am from the 40s. They used to call people like me degenerate, evil, and disgusting. They used to think that homosexuality was a mental disorder. They wanted to send us to jail. I grew up hearing those things. I was 10 years old and I already felt bad about myself. I felt that I needed to hide who I was in order to be accepted."

The anger left Lou Ellen's eyes and she hugged him, hard enough to do some permanent damage. Nico definitely needed to get used to this hugging thing. He was standing there like a rag doll with his arms glued to his sides.

"You got to hug back, Nico. If you don't do it is rude."

"I am not used to this. I feel like you are choking me."

She let him go. She had a small smile on her face, "We are not in the 40s anymore, pale one. Nobody cares about those things."

"There is still some discrimination. By the way, I do not like that nickname."

"You are extremely pale, so you are the pale one. Regarding the other part, perhaps there is still some discrimination, but you can get married now, and have babies. OMG, you and Wil with a baby. That would be so sweet and cute."

"I'm fourteen. Let's have this baby talk in like thirty years from now." He wasn't even out of the closet and this girl was marrying him off.

"Besides, nobody here is going to judge you. We are demigods. Have you read your mythology, di Angelo? It's kind of disturbing. The Gods turning into animals to do… stuff." She made a face as if she was going to vomit.

Nico was smiling. She had a point. Why would anyone judge him when the Gods were a little creepy? Well, a lot creepy. Good thing creepiness was not genetic.

"We are a weird bunch, Nico. No one would mind it. They didn't care with Will. Why would they make a big deal now?"

Lou Ellen was smart and perceptive, no wonder she was Will's best friend. She made great arguments too. His father certainly didn't care. He wanted Nico to be happy. The guy took the time to tell him that he was okay with that. Why would he worried so much about what others think?

Nico wanted to be able to go out with Will like normal couples did. Hold hands. Maybe a hug here and there. Only those things, of course, he was not an exhibitionist. He had some manners after all and truth be told, they might go to jail if they kiss like that in public.

"Gods, you are thinking about him, aren't you? You are blushing so hard you look like a tomato."

Nico had momentarily forgotten that Lou Ellen was there and that just make him blush even harder. He tended to space out when his mind was on Will. Suddenly, she started laughing.

"It is a good thing we talk. I was about to turn you into a pig. A cute, although, skinny pig."

"I was scared for a moment. You are short, but damn you can be intimidating."

Lou Ellen got this huge evil grin, "I know. By the way, if you think I overreacted. You wait until Will notice that you are getting female attention. You will see one angry son of Apollo."

"Will is not the jealous type," Nico admitted to himself, that the thought of Will jealous because of the attention he was getting it was kind of flattering.

"Perhaps, but when it comes to you. The guy can't think straight, no pun intended." She took his hand and started walking towards the Arena "Wipe that stupid smile off your face. You owe me a practice and I am going to crush you."

They made their way back. Nico was grateful for the talk. She was right, times had changed. He shouldn't be afraid of how he felt. After the practice, he should go and talk to Will. He had the feeling he was going to finish in the infirmary anyway. He might as well go and have a chat. What if Will thought the Nico was ashamed of him? Nico needed to explain him reasons and feelings. Gods, when did I turn into this creature with feelings? He thought.

Nico picked up a sword and a shield and went to get his ass kicked.

* * *

Will was in his "office" he just finished organizing some papers and now he was trying to do something about the scorch mark Hades had left on his floor. He was wearing his trademark camp t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. Your usual doctor attire.

Will has always enjoyed being a doctor. It was his calling. Helping people and using his abilities to heal them were some of the things that bring him joy. Will had always done the job with a smile on his face. However lately, he had this goofy grin that made him look like an idiot, he was extra cheerful while attending patients and there was definitely a spring in his step. It was all thanks to a brooding son of Hades, who lost the perpetual scowl on his face every time he saw Will.

These last 5 days have been a dream. He got the guy, which for a moment Will though he was not getting. In addition, last night, a new possibility opened for him to spend more time with Nico.

_They were sitting on Nico's bed, legs crossed and a bunch of Mythomagic cards laid out in front of them. Nico was explaining the rules of the game or at least, trying to. Nico was talking; his mouth was moving and Will got extremely distracted with that mouth. Nico's lower lip was just so cute and for lack of a better word eatable._

" _With the Apollo card, you have the power to make everybody get pregnant with a 6 month-old baby. So, they won't be able to attach because they could harm the babies."_

_Will took his eyes away from Nico's mouth when his brain registered what Nico just said. "Wait, can you really do that? That's awesome. You can win the game real quick."_

" _Of course, you can't do that Will. I wanted to check that you were paying attention, which you weren't. It's the third time, Will. Come on."_

" _Sorry. In my defense your lips are moving," he touched Nico's lower lip "and this little friend is very distracting."_

_Nico smacked his hand and pushed him off the bed. Will was laughing, as usual. He didn't mind. That's how he knew Nico liked him._

" _You said you wanted to learn and I am running out of patience here."_

_Will tentatively poked his head over the edge of the bed. Last time, Nico threw some cards at him. They were very pointy and one almost took his eye out. He was sitting there with his arms crossed and a murderous look in his face, but no cards in hand. "Sorry, Nico. I promised I'll pay attention next time," he stood up and sat on the bed again "Can we make out first, please?" and he pouted. Will knew Nico couldn't resist the pout._

" _Stop pouting, Will."_

" _Is it working?"_

" _Maybe."_

_Will approached Nico carefully and kissed him on the neck, then his cheek, his nose and finally his forehead "How about now?" he kissed him on the lips and gave Nico his most dazzling smile._

" _Fine, but we play Mythomagic later."_

_They didn't play anything later. They were lying in bed on their sides looking at each other. Their hands intertwined._

" _Do you have plans?" Will kissed Nico's hand sending a shiver down the other boy's spine._

" _What do you mean by plans? Future plans? Evil plans? Kissing plans?" Nico winked at him. He sometimes wondered if Nico would be able to be this carefree in public. Maybe not, that wink is too sexy. Some people might think he is flirting._

" _Not that I don't want to know about the kissing plans because trust me, I do. I meant once the summer is over. Are you staying in camp?"_

_Nico looked pensive. Apparently he had been giving it some thought. "I was thinking that I should go back to school. It's been 4 years. I probably forgot everything I learned before."_

" _That's wonderful. Do you have a school in mind?"_

" _Honestly, I don't know much about schools. I would have to talk to my father. He was the one who got Bianca and me in that boarding school."_

" _You could go to my school if you want to. It's probably not as fancy as the school you went, but we would be together."_

" _Do you really want that? For us to be together the whole year. You might get bored of me."_

_He gave Nico a peck on the lips and then kissed his hand again. "Nothing would make me happier than for us to be together. Besides, you still need to teach me the card game, remember."_

" _Sometimes I feel like I'm teaching a dog how to play the piano." Nico punched him in the arm. Will laughed. Damn, Nico was definitely a dream come true._

" _A dog wouldn't kiss you like I do and you know it. What do you say about the school?" asked he, eagerly. Will wanted to spend the whole year with Nico. This would be his last year in school and then he was starting College. His time with Nico would be cut short._

" _I'll talk to my father. You give me the information and he'll send one of the Furies to enroll me there."_

" _Wow. Your dad is so cool using the Furies for that," you heard that Hades, I think you are cool, Will thought. "Enough school talk; what I really want to know is your kissing plans."_

They spent the whole night kissing and the prospect that Nico might go to his school had Will in a state of constant bliss. He was so ecstatic that he started dancing to his tune: _"I'm walking on sunshine, woah. I'm walking on sunshine, woah. I'm walking on sunshine, woo hah._ "

"And don't it feel good?" Will turned around so fast he almost fell, but he grabbed the edge of his desk and saved himself from the embarrassment. He was so focused on the song he didn't notice that someone opened the door; Anna was there with a smirk on her face "You are supposed to be the head doctor here, you know that, don't you?"

"I was just…" he hesitated. Will didn't know what to say.

"You were just walking on sunshine, don't worry. That's perfectly normal. I apologized for interrupting your little dance, but you have a patient. Actually, It is your favorite. Mr di Angelo is back. I think he missed the infirmary." She motioned to someone and Nico entered the room. Will's eyes widened in surprise.

"What the hell happened to you?" Nico had bruises all over his arms and a cut on his cheek. Will wanted to close the distance between them and hug him and kiss all the bruises away, but Nico got really uncomfortable about PDA. Their relationship wasn't exactly official yet. He didn't want to spook Nico by being overprotecting in front of others.

"I was practicing. I had no idea Lou Ellen could be dangerous with a sword too."

"Anna, would you please bring me some Ambrosia? But just a smidge, that should be enough for the cut." Will indicated the chair to Nico for him to sit. He waited for Anna to bring the Ambrosia, she left and he closed the door.

Will took the other chair and placed it in front of Nico's. He sat and proceeded to clean the cut. It was bleeding a little. Once he finished, he handed the Ambrosia to Nico. "Now you can eat it."

"Thanks."

"You want to tell me what happened?"

"Not much, your usual sword practice with a bit of the mist in the way. Lou Ellen cheats."

"What were you expecting? She can control the mist. Give me your hands." Will took Nico's hands in his. They were cold. The first time he held Nico's hands he was worried about the coldness, but then he understood that Nico's body temperature is different. It was a Hades thing. Will kissed one of the bruises on Nico's hand, then he started kissing upwards, moving to Nico's arm.

"What are you doing?" asked Nico, who was red. Will laughed, Nico blushed so easily.

"What do you think I am doing? I am kissing the boo boos. Didn't you know that kisses make everything better?" and he continued on with the trail of kisses.

"That's stupid and I am not a child. Stop now," Nico wanted his arms back and he was pulling, but Will wouldn't let go "Let me go, you are supposed to be an actual doctor, not a boo boo kisser. Besides, someone could come in."

"Nobody is coming, the door is locked. Can I continue with my medicine? Kissing boo boos is a delicate process." He gave Nico one of his blinding smiles.

"How about you make the hickey you left on my neck disappear?" Nico was furiously pointing at a red mark on his neck.

Last night he bit Nico on his neck. wanting to leave a mark. He didn't think would be so upset about it. "Oh yeah. That one stays. It's from me after all." Nico punched him, hard "What's the problem?"

"The problem is, that somebody noticed the hickey this morning, and I didn't know how to explain it. I had never had a vampire sucking on my neck before." Nico was blushing again. He looked so cute, but this wasn't the time to point it out.

"I did bite a bit, but I swear I had no idea it was going to be so obvious. I'm sorry," Nico wouldn't meet his eyes. Will should have known this was going to happen. He didn't want to push him into going public. Nico was still uncomfortable about the whole thing; he was always checking that no one was watching every time Will went to his cabin. The only thing Will wanted to do was kiss him and hug him in front of everyone, but Nico wasn't ready for that yet. Will respected that decision, it hurt him a little, but he respected it.

"It's okay. I am sorry too. It is my fault. I am the one who want to keep this as a secret. You don't deserve that."

Will cupped Nico's face in his hands. He kissed him long and hard. Nico kissed him back all too willingly and slid up his hands up Will's arms. Nico's kisses made everything disappear. It was only him Will saw and felt. When they finally broke apart; Will looked at Nico straight in the eyes "I don't care Nico. The important thing is that we are together. You are worth waiting for."

Nico threw his arms around his neck and hugged him. That was a first. It was usually Will the one who initiated anything that had to do with contact. Will hugged him back, he wouldn't be able to say to Nico how he felt for a long time. That might scare him off, but he could show it from time to time.

They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity. Nico disentangled himself first "I am planning on visiting my father this weekend. I am going to talk to him about the school thing. Do you want to come with me?"

So, Nico was not ready to go public, but he was willing to introduce him to his father. Yes, he knew Hades, but this was a big deal for them.

"I'll understand if you don't want to go. The Underworld isn't the coziest of places." Nico took his silence as a refusal when it was the opposite. Will was pleasantly surprised that Nico wanted to take him to meet his father.

"Should I call your dad Father-in-law when we get there?" Nico laughed. That laugh was music to his ears. Will would move mountains if that is what it took to make Nico laugh.

"Unless you have a death wish. I strongly advise against it. You should be careful with Persephone though. She likes to turn people into plants."

"I assuming there is a story there. However, unlike you, my broody friend, I am extremely charming. She wouldn't turn me into anything."

"If you say so," Nico gave Will a smirk "I am leaving, you look like you have more dancing to do. I'll see you tonight."

Will kissed him one last time and let him go. He needed to get ready for the weekend. Should he wear something different in the Underworld? He imagined it was hot, but Hades palace must be ostentatious and even down there they must have AC. Would he have to take his own food? You couldn't eat any Underworld food or you got stuck there. It was better if he asked those questions to Nico tonight and a few others that just occurred to him.

Will was smiling. He was meeting the in-laws this weekend. Everything was going to be perfect. He and Hades were best bros, sort of. What could go wrong?


	7. The one with the family

Everything went wrong. That was by far the most awkward dinner Will have ever been. Included that one time his father decided to show up on his birthday and started reciting poetry in front of the few non-demigod friends he had. Let's just say that Will became extremely unpopular after that. Taking into account the weird things that tended to happen around him, you know the usual monster or demon trying to eat his guts. Some kids stopped hanging around with him in school and once the rumor started that his father was some sort of drunk, no one wanted to be near him.

Will thought all those were bad. He had been so clueless; an awkward dinner in the Underworld with a piss off boyfriend and a piss off father-in-law was now the number one thing on his list of uncomfortable situations.

The weekend started on the wrong foot when Will decided to tell Nico about the visit Hades had paid him. Nico didn't take it well.

"No wonder my father knew about you. Why didn't you tell me?" Nico was walking back and forth in his cabin like a caged lion. Will was about to indicate that he should stop or that he would make a hole in the floor, but that would have been a bad idea. Nico was furious.

"I didn't think it was important."

"Of course, it was important Will. You were planning this thing we have with my father since the beginning."

"I was certainly not. He just wanted to make sure that I was good for you. I don't understand why you are so upset. It was somewhat sweet when you think about it. Your dad, leaving Underworld business behind, showing his concern for you. It was really sweet." Will realized the mistake he made the minute that word came out of his mouth.

When Hades showed up in his office, scaring the crap out of him. Will couldn't help but notice the similarities with his son, same pale skin and dark hair. However, where Hades' eyes were like a bottomless, merciless pit. Nico's were like the sea at night, endless, beautiful, and magical. Hades' eyes make you feel like you were staring at the very doors of Hell. Nico's eyes made Will feel like he could drown in there and die and happy man. Right now, Nico was showing that he was certainly a son of Hades.

"Did it just get cold in here?"

"My father is not sweet. He is the Lord of the Goddamn Underworld. And you should have told me. I don't need him to come here and ask guys to date me. I am a grown… teenager… Wait, did my father talk you into asking me out?"

Why? Why did Nico always feel the need to put himself down? Did he really think that the only reason someone could possibly date him was that his father made him?

"Why on all humanity would you think that? I wanted to be with you for a while now. He was just making sure that I was not an idiot or something like that. Then, he mentioned Percy, and I…" Will didn't finish that sentence. Nico turned around sharply and looked him straight in the eye. There were full of rage now.

"Hold your horses, Solace. Did my father tell you about Percy?"

"I… He… I mean…"

"ANSWER ME." Yelled Nico. That made Will jump. Seriously, that kid was freaking scary when he was angry.

"He didn't exactly tell me. It sort of slipped. He mentioned that I was not Jackson, so I connected the dots."

"This is embarrassing." And the pacing starting again, "I thought that one advantage of having a God as a parent is that they wouldn't do shit like this."

Will knew Nico would be upset, but he didn't think that it would be that big of a deal. Nico didn´t realize how lucky he was that his dad, at least, tried to have some sort of relationship with him. The reason so many demigod children joined Kronos in the First War was that their godly parents didn't spare them a second thought. Seriously, who would have thought that Hades would be the one trying to be the parent of the year? Yes, it was a bit embarrassing, but Will was happy that Hades genuinely cared about his son.

Nico stopped the pacing around and sat on his bed looking defeated. "My dad is forcing you to this. That actually makes more sense than you wanting to be with me because of me. I mean, why else would you be with me?"

Not this again, Will thought. He reached to take Nico's hand and talk some sense into him, but Nico pulled his hand away. Will thought that they were passed that stage where Nico kept pushing him away.

He knelt down in front of Nico and cupped his face with his hands. "Don't do this Nico. Don't shut me out, and more importantly, do not doubt my feelings for you. Your father had nothing to do with this. Do you really think that is the reason I am with you?"

"What else could it be? I am not nice. I hate other people. I do not like any sort of physical contact. I am not willing to acknowledge this relationship. I am damaged goods, Will."

It was in moments like this that Will wanted to punch Nico in the face. How can someone as intelligent as Nico could be that stupid sometimes? "You are not damaged goods and for the record, you may not like other people touching you, but you sure as hell have no problem with me doing it." Nico was blushing. He blushed so easily. It was kind of like a game to Will to say things that would make the other boy blush.

"That's different. Especially now that I know my father made you date me."

"Nico, it was not like that and you know it. Can we please talk a bit more about this before we leave?" Will kissed him and felt his heart break a little when Nico didn't kiss him back.

"We are not going anywhere. I am going because I need to talk to my father, but you are staying here. Now, please, leave. I need to think."

"About what? You want to be alone so you can do your usual Nico move and run away."

"I am not running away. However, I do need you to leave right now."

"I am not leaving. I am going to stay here until you finally realize how stupid this situation is." He sat beside Nico on the bed, crossed his arms and made himself very comfortable; at least as comfortable as anyone can be while pretending stubbornness.

"Fine, act like a child. I am the one leaving then." Nico moved before Will could grab him and left the cabin.

"Yep, that was a smart move, Solace. Putting pressure on the boy that is a flight risk." Murmured Will. He knew that it was unwise to press Nico, but did he leave? No, he decided to act the part of the spoiled brat. That might work with some parents, but not with Nico.

There was also the issue of Hades. Actually, he was surprised that the man was not there right now looking at him with those big scary eyes of him condemning Will to an eternity in The Fields of Punishment for being a tattle-tale. Although, in his defense he didn't exactly forbid Will to tell Nico. Maybe they weren't bros after all.

Will wanted to stay there, but he knew that it would be a while before Nico came back and he had some things to do; one of them was unpacking. Will had been in fact excited about spending a weekend in the Underworld. Nice for him, a cruel joke for the people that were currently suffering there.

"Uncool, Solace." He left, wondering if Nico would break it off before they even get a chance to make memories that would last through eternity.

* * *

Nico was walking down the beach, which was almost empty. A few campers were walking around like him. Some tried to approach him, but the scowl was back on his face, so they just left him to himself, which was fine by him. Nico didn't want anyone else to know what was going out. It was a good thing he decided to keep the relationship a secret. Everyone would be laughing now if they knew that his father was the one getting dates for him.

"Ugh. I cannot believe this." Nico was ashamed, scratch that, he was humiliated. That's why his father showed up that day telling him that it was okay, that he supported him. Hades was plotting with Will.

Gods, what if he is threatening Will to be with me. That is the only explanation why someone as amazing as Will was attracted to me, Nico thought. He is not attracted to me at all. My father is forcing him to be with me. That's a reasonable explanation. Surely more convincing than wanting to be with me because he liked me and crap.

Hades was just like Percy and Jason, trying to set him up with people. Nico certainly didn't need them. He was perfectly capable of embarrassing himself without anyone's help.

Nico sat on the beach and put his face on his hands. "Was I an evil person in a previous life? Why does this shit keep happening to me?"

He didn't want to visit his father anymore. He felt betrayed. However, he honestly wanted to go back to school. Although, he sure as hell wasn't going to Will's anymore. Nico never stayed where he wasn't wanted. That was the main reason he left camp for the first time and now he might have to leave again. Nico was not going to impose his presence on Will or anyone for that matter.

Suddenly, a mist appeared in front of him. It was an Iris Message and there he was. Hades Lord of the Underworld and apparently Matchmaker of Demigods.

"What do you want? Haven't you done enough?"

"Stop being melodramatic. I am making sure that you are coming tonight and bringing that boy of yours"

"Are you kidding me?" asked Nico about to throw a rock to that stupid mist "Why would I go? And would you please stop saying "that boy of yours"? It sounds… weird."

"How else am I going to say it? It sounds perfect to me. Like I said before, stop the drama. Do you really believe I would go up there and threaten a boy to be your date? I have a business to run, you know?"

"Why did you do it? What did you win with all this?"

"Why don't you come and find out?" Hades said, nonchalantly.

That man was tricky indeed. He knew Nico never back down on a challenge. However, Nico could reach levels of stubbornness that would make the most stubborn man on earth weep. "I won't go, father" he looked the other way.

"Come on. I got that McDonald Hamburger you like so much."

"Really?" asked Nico, hating himself for sounding so hopeful.

"Yes. I sent Alecto to get them for you. With fries and all the other stuff you like."

Damn, the man also knew how to offer a good bargain. It had been so long since he had a decent hamburger. It was just recently that he started eating a whole meal again. All of that thanks to Will. Stupid, blond and sexy Will. Nico did want that hamburger, but he was not taking Solace. It was too embarrassing, and there were not enough McDonalds in the world that could change his mind about that.

"I'll go, but Will is not coming and that is my final offer."

"First, I didn't know we were negotiating. Second, why not? It's a family dinner and the boy is practically family. Besides, don't you want to punish him for hiding the truth? I could make him real miserable."

"Are you even listening to yourself? Why do you want me to take him? So you can rub in my face what you did." He knew he was pushing it, but he couldn't help it. Nico was hurt and Hades was the cause of it.

"That is enough, Nico. I have given you too many liberties; maybe I should get that insolence out of you with a whipping like in the old days. I am a God and I certainly should not be begging you to come down here. Either you come willingly or I will send the Furies to get you. Your choice."

Nico should be grateful that his father was giving him a choice. If he were somebody else, there would have been an army of skeleton warriors ready to drag him to Hell. Sometimes he forgot that Hades was, you know, Hades. The fact that he was sometimes benevolent to Nico didn't mean that it was always going to be like that. Especially now that Hades was getting the crazy eye look he only got when he was in battle; the one where you feel you could burn just by looking at him; Nico had seen it and it was not pretty.

He decided to take the high road. It was either that or getting attack by the Furies "You win. I am taking Will with me. Happy now?"

"In general, yes, I am happy. I'll see you tonight. You better not be late. You know how much I hate lateness." Hades waved his hand through the mist disconnecting the call.

Hurray. Forced family dinner, Nico thought. The worst part was that he had the feeling that something was going to happen. Nico just knew it that was his usual bad luck. He needed to find Will and tell him that they were definitely going. Of course, he was omitting the threat part. It shouldn't be too hard to convince Will, who was, in fact, excited about going to the Underworld.

"And here I am thinking that I'm the weirdo in this relationship." Said Nico to himself, making his way to the infirmary and preparing himself mentally for a family dinner. In the Underworld with his family.

* * *

Nico and Will appeared in the main hall of Hades' Palace. The palace was a copy of Mount Olympus. However, being Hades God of Wealth; the palace was fancier than his counterpart.

The main hall was a room made entirely of gold and silver, which for Nico was not a good choice. It was like when a newly rich person is trying too hard to show her/his wealth and ends up looking expensive and tacky at the same time, which unbelievably, it is not as easy to accomplish as anyone could imagine. There were tables with huge bouquets of things that look like flowers, but that were actually a combination of diamonds, amethysts, opals and other jewels. The whole thing had been built to make visitors feel somehow unwelcome and like the smallest people in the universe.

Someone was approaching from the garden to greet them. In that moment, Nico realized that he could read the fortune for a living if the school thing didn't work out because his weekend just got ruined.

Persephone was looking as beautiful as ever. She was wearing a dress that appeared to be made from different colors: blue, yellow, red, purple, green and pink. It was like looking at a rainbow. An evil rainbow. The woman was impossibly tall, which made Nico feel like a dwarf in comparison. He did not like her, at all.

"What are you doing here?" asked Nico, hoping to convey hate and displeasure in his tone.

"Is that how you greet your step-mother?" said Persephone with a cheery voice.

"You are not my step-mother. I ask again, what are you doing here? It's summer, Are you not supposed to be with your mother?" replied Nico, wanting that woman out of there.

"Don't worry, my mother is here too. We were not going to miss this family dinner, Nicolas."

"It's Nico." He snapped.

"That is what I said. Anyway, I am being impolite. Who is this cute boy with you, Nicolas? That hair, oh my. It's like there is finally a ray of sun in this place."

Nico was frowning. This woman could not possibly be flirting with Will in her husband's palace. What was he thinking? She was Goddess, of course, she would flirt with someone in her husband's house. Then, she did the unthinkable. She touched Will's forearm and unlike Nico, he did have nice biceps.

"Wow, you must work out a lot to keep that rocking bod of yours." She was giggling like one of those girls from Aphrodite's cabin.

Nico was seeing red. She was making a move on her boyfriend in his father's palace. The Gods didn't have rules about who should be dating whom, but Nico was not letting that woman touch his boyfriend like she was entitled to it. He slapped Persephone's hand away and put himself in front off Will.

"Keep your hands away from him. He is my boyfriend, so you better not touch him again." Nico had to crane his neck to look her in the eye. Why did she have to be so damn tall?

"Or what? This is also my domain, ghost boy. What are you going to do?" she was smiling. A smile that made men fall in love with her, but that made Nico want to punch her.

"Nico," Will said, using that stupid calming voice of his and grabbing his arm just in case "Why don't we all calm down? I apologized that I haven't introduced myself properly. I am Will Solace, son of Apollo. Nice to meet you… ma'am." He bowed.

"At least, someone knows how to behave." Said a cold voice down the hall. Hades approached slowly to them. Hades was using his trademark robes with screaming souls trying to come out of them. "Is that any way to treat our guests, dear?"

"He started it," She said like a petulant child.

"Well, I am ending it. Nico, nice to have you back. Will Solace, welcome to my humble home."

That place was anything but humble. Unless humble suddenly changed its meaning to disgustingly opulent. It was ridiculous to Nico, but Hades was the rich one of the Gods; he had to live accordingly.

"Beautiful place, sir."

"I know. Let's move to the dining room. Leave your bags in here; one of the servants will take them to your chambers." He took Persephone's hand and led her down the hall.

Nico took Will's hand. An action that surprised the other boy taking into account that Nico wasn't the one used to starting any sort of physical contact between them. Will gave him an encouraging smile and they went to the dining room.

* * *

Imagine Versailles, France. XVIII century, hanging out with Queen Marie Antoinette while the rest of France was falling apart. The dining room looked like it was straight out of the Queen's palace. It was for lack of a better word, rich. It was this huge place made of gold and silver too. There were tapestries and paintings that probably cost more that New York city put together.

There was a twenty-seat dining table (Nico had no idea why. His father hated visitors) and what Nico was sure were gold engravings on the chairs. There were several two enormous chandeliers above it, made of diamonds. The whole room looked like someone summoned all the rich people in the world and they threw up all of their riches in there. Actually, the only thing missing was decent lightning. Hades was still a fan of candle-lit dinners.

"So, your dad is rich, huh?" murmured Will, who was gripping Nico's hand as if his life depend on it. Nico understood the feeling. The whole thing was really intimidating. It was designed to make people feel like they were nothing. He felt like that the first time, so he kissed Will's hand. Will gave him another surprised smile and he knew that everything was going to be okay between them no matter what.

They sat side by side. Nico was sitting at his father's right side. Persephone and Demeter were right across from them. If looks could kill, Nico would be dead by now. He should turn her into a Dandelion, so she would know how it feels.

Hades clapped his hands and several servants came out of the different doors around the room, carrying trays. His father was certainly showing off. There were probably twenty trays with food, which was too much taking into account that they were only five in there and that Will and he were going to eat hamburgers.

"You know. I forgot to ask before, but what are we going to eat? I don't know about you, but I can't eat Underworld food." Asked Will, sounding confused.

"Don't worry. My father took care of everything." Two servants placed covered trays in front of them (golden trays). They opened them and on the plate, it was Nico's favorite food in the entire world. Doble cheeseburger and extra fries with ketchup on the side. Will looked at him, raising one eyebrow in question. He smiled at him, then the servants put goblets and filled them with soda. After that, the servants bowed to Hades and left through the same doors.

"Enjoy your meal, everyone."

They started eating. At first, there was an uncomfortable silence. There were just the sounds of cutlery and chewing and for Nico it would have been amazing if they have just stayed that way, but no. He should have known by now that luck was never on his side.

"Nicolas, that food cannot be healthy for you. That's why you look so scrawny, you are not eating properly. You are a growing boy, you need to eat vegetables and cereals. That way you can grow up to be a fine young man like that one." Demeter was pointing at Will "Now, this one. He certainly has a healthy diet. Who are you anyway?"

"Mother, this is Will Solace, son of Apollo." Said Persephone making the proper introductions and winking at Will. Nico narrowed his eyes at her. He wanted to strangle her.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Oh yeah, he is Nicolas boyfriend or whatever."

"It's Nico. Ni - Co. How hard is it?" Nico's hands were clenched. He was angry. He hated when those two got together and talk about him, sometimes like he wasn't even there.

"So, Lord Hades, this place is… uh… cool." said Will, trying to break the tension. He took one of Nico's hands and smiled at him, telling him to calm down that he was there for him. They weren't exactly in a happy place, they still needed to talk a bit more about what happened this afternoon, but Nico was glad that Will was there. He would have left that room by now.

"I see that you have a way with words, Solace. This palace is… cool as you so eloquently put it. I needed to have a decent place down here since I wasn't welcome in Olympus. However, that is just water under the bridge now. My palace is better and has certain… commodities that Olympus doesn't." Hades looked so full of himself when he talk about this cold, sterile place. There wasn't a sense of home. Nico didn't like it, but he understood the awe that it caused in people. So much wealth put together in one place is somewhat extraordinary.

"It is indeed amazing. I honestly didn't know what to expect. I mean, it is the Underworld. I thought that I was going to see tortured souls in one corner. Evil monsters in the other corner." Will please, shut up. Nico thought. "Even the food looks amazing. I thought you ate the hearts of your enemies for dinner or something like that… ouch." Nico kicked Will's foot under the table. Then, Will realized that he had offended his host. Even Demeter and Persephone were looking at him like he was insane.

"I apologize, sir."

"No apology need it. I might start torturing one soul right now."

Seriously, only Will would start talking about that. The father-in-law thing would have been better than the heart-eating conversation.

"Hades, don't scare the boy like that. We have all thought about it. He just had the guts to say it out loud." said Demeter, looking at Will like an angel who just fell from the sky "Did my daughter say that you were Nico's boyfriend? Why? You are so sweet and full of life and he is, well, let's say that the apple doesn't fall far from the three."

"Excuse me?" said Nico and Hades at the same time, standing up from their seats. The food was forgotten. They were about to go at each other's throats, like animals. Also, the knives were right there.

That was exactly why Nico didn't want a family dinner. Someone always ended up turn into something; that someone being Nico. Especially when Demeter and Persephone got together, they just made cruel comments about his mother and Bianca. It was not his fault that Hades had been unfaithful. He shouldn't be blamed for other people's mistake. Although, he was thankful that his father was Hades and not Zeus. Only the other Gods knew what Hera would have done to him.

"Well, you did kidnap my daughter and your children were the ones who started that war all those years ago. So, why would this one be any different?"

"I would not allow your insolence under my roof, Demeter. I did not invite you to come. You are here because my wife wants it. If it were for me you would have never found your way in."

"What are they even doing here, father? It's summer. That is why I accepted to bring Will with me because I thought they were not going to be here. You know this shit happens every time we get together. Why force it?"

"Well, this is my palace too in case you forgot, and this is my mother. I think that the only one who is invading is you. The bastard child. You and that sister of yours. You should never set foot in this place."

Will have been sitting the whole time, just looking from one side to the other like he was watching a tennis match. However, at that remark he stood up and put out his hands, trying to get everyone to calm down. "Why don't we all just calm…" he couldn't finish. Four different "SHUT UP," were thrown at his direction.

"I'm sorry, but it is not my fault that your children were so useless that my father had to go and make others." Will and Hades looked at Nico as if they have never seen him before. It was the first time he stood up to Persephone, and that was a low blow.

Holy Hades, what did I just say? Nico thought, getting paler by the minute. He wasn't like that. He didn't like confrontations and more importantly, he didn't mean it, but he was so tired of that woman treating him like garbage, that he said the first thing in his mind. You see, he didn't just offend Persephone by saying that, his father was going to feel offended too.

"I am sorry father. I didn't mean it. I apologize."

Before Hades could say anything Persephone was coughing to get attention. "Excuse me. I think you owe me an apology too."

"Only if you apologize for all the things that you have said to me all these years."

"I do not apologize for the truth," she said, menacingly. Nico was going to get turn into a plant again, but it was worth it because for the first time he made a stand. He was not going to let her treat him badly anymore.

"Right back at ya." Nico turned to his father, who was actually the only one he cared about in that family "I apologize father. I didn't mean to offend you. If you excuse me I will retire to my room." Hades nodded and Nico made a rapid exit, not without hearing one last comment from Demeter.

"I told you Hades. That kid needs a summer working hard in the fields. That would teach him some manners."

* * *

Nico had tears in his eyes. He was not going to cry in front of them. He was used to Persephone's comments, there was nothing new there. He has been hearing them since he was ten. Nico just kept thinking about one of Demeter's _"Why? You are so sweet and full of life and he is, well, let's say that the apple doesn't fall far from the three."_ It was the same thing he asked himself every day. That is why it was easier for him to believe that his father forced Will to do it than the fact that Will had feelings for him.

It wasn't until he found his room and locked himself in that he realized he left Will in the dining room with three angry Gods and no idea where to go. He was a shitty boyfriend indeed.


	8. The one with the bonding

To sum up, there had been a slight argument between Nico and Persephone, which apparently was nothing new. In addition to that, Nico left Will in the dining room with three angry Gods, who were currently yelling at each other. Will was thinking that they could make a fortune, in reality TV. Seriously, Gods were like normal people, they had family crisis, discussions, and the usual hatred for the in-laws just like everybody else. Who knew? They could call the show "The Real Gods of Olympus" or "The Olympians"

Truth be told, Will kept thinking about happy and funny things because he was afraid. It was a miracle that Hades didn't kill him and now the guy was too busy arguing with his mother-in-law/sister (Gross) to pay attention to him. Will kept hearing things like: "That kid" and "That woman" and "A day in the fields" Demeter believe that any problem could be fixed by spending a day in the fields.

It was a good thing they hadn't notice him or more precisely forgot that he was even there. Although, Will kind of wanted someone to notice him. He wore his best outfit for that dinner. It was the outfit he liked to call "Church clothes" the one that people only wear on Sundays when they were forced to go to church. He was wearing a button-down blue shirt that fit him perfectly, tailored black pants and his best shoes. All that effort for nothing. He might as well have worn his camp t-shirt and shorts. It would have been still an awkward evening, but he would have been more comfortable.

Will had two choices. He could go and find Nico or he could get the Hell out of there. However, if he wanted to leave he needed Nico and to find Nico he needed to interrupt that argument. Talk about irony. He was between a rock and a hard place.

Will stood up. He mustered all the courage he could find inside of him and with a silent prayer to his father for protection, he said, "Excuse me?" It came out sounding like a whine; like a dog that had just been kicked. Will cleared his throat and said again, loudly this time. "Excuse me?" still, no reaction. Damn, what could an extremely scared boy do? He was going to have to use his ultrasonic whistle, which was going to be like poking an angry bear, but he was doing it anyway. He needed to find Nico before he decided to escape.

Will whistled. That did it, three set of eyes were focused on him now. That hadn't been his brightest idea, but he got what he wanted; their attention. Now the question was if he was getting turn into a plant, a ghost or some heavy machinery.

"Why are you still here? And what were you thinking?" asked Hades with irritation.

"I apologize for the whistle, but you weren't paying any attention to me, which is ridiculous considering that I am the guest, and I think I should go find Nico." That came out a bit less cool and more like a command.

"Go then. Why are you standing there like an idiot?"

"I don't know where his room is. I do not know where anything is in this place. I've never been here before." Hades gave him his doors of Hell look.

I'm dead, Will thought. Hades look at him for what felt like an eternity. He snapped his fingers and Will flinched thinking that Hades was setting him on fire. However, Hades summoned a servant and ordered him (It?) to take him to Nico's room.

"Thank you, sir. I apologize again for the whistle and the heart of your enemies' topic," he turned to Persephone and Demeter "It was a pleasure to meet you. I'll leave you to it." He bowed and followed the servant, not without hearing one last comment for Demeter.

"That is a boy with manners. He could do so much better." No wonder Nico thought that he was not important; he had to listen to those two all day. That could take a toll on a guy's self-esteem. Not for the first time in his life, he was grateful that his father was Apollo.

* * *

Hades' Palace was huge. Will thought that the dining room was opulent, but compare to the rest of the place, that room was garbage. He followed the servant through corridors whose walls were made of gold and silver. There were famous paintings hanging on them. Wasn't the Mona Lisa supposed to be in Paris? There were also bouquets of flowers made with jewels. To say that Hades was rich was an understatement. A thought just occurred to him, what if Nico thing that he is with him for his father's money. That would break his heart. He was certainly not a golddigger.

Will was so focused on this thought and the exuberance of the palace that he didn't notice that the servant had stopped. It was a ghost servant and Will went straight through it. It felt like a shower, but instead of water, you are using dry ice. It was that bad. He was not repeating that one experience, ever.

"Master Nico's chambers."

"Thank you, Mr… Ghost." The ghost stood there, looking at him with those vacant eyes. "Why are you still here?"

"You have to dismiss me, sir."

"Sure, sure. You are dismissed?" The ghost bowed and disappeared. Will wasn't sure what was weirder, the ghost bowing to him or the Master Nico thing. He had to admit to himself, it had a sexy ring to it. He imagined how red Nico would be if he ever called him like that. He smiled just thinking about it

"Focus, Solace," Will murmured. He was standing there, in front of Nico's room, deciding his next course of action. He could either knock or enter the room uninvited. It would be better to knock. He knew that the reason Nico was hurting right now was Demeter's comment about them. Something that he knew Nico said to himself every day. He knocked.

"Nico," damn, this door was beautifully made and good wood too, this place was awesome "Nico, please let me in." He felt like a vampire, asking for permission to enter someone's home.

There was only silence from the other side of the door. Suddenly, Will realized that this was the opportunity he'd been waiting since certain movie came out. Also, Nico would want to know what was that about. Two birds with one stone.

"Nico, do you wanna build a snowman?" sang Will. Then, he was laughing. He loved that movie. He had always wanted to do that and it worked. Nico opened the door with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Why would you want to build a snowman in Hell? There is no snow down here."

Will took his chance. He immediately entered the room, closed the door and didn't gave Nico any chance to escape. Except shadow traveling. Okay, he needed to talk fast, Nico could escape at any minute.

"It's from a movie. You need to watch it." Will took a good look at Nico. His eyes were red and puffy, he had been crying. So, Will hugged him. Although, is it still a hug if the other person is trying to escape?

"Nico, would you stop? I am trying to comfort you. I am your boyfriend. It is my job." However, Nico wiggled out of the hug and had a scowl. He got the scowl back.

"What do you want, Will?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe I want to see how my boyfriend is doing after that dinner. By the way, not to be an idiot, but I am the one who should be mad. You dumped me in that dining room with them. I thought for sure that your dad was going to kill me."

"I know. You are right. I am a crappy boyfriend." Nico looked crushed with guilt and his usual self-hatred. He sat on his bed (A four-poster bed. Who had a poster bed in this age?) and buried his face in his hands. "I am sorry, Will. I shouldn't have left you there. I was so embarrassed that you had to see that."

"If I hug you now, would you escape again?" Nico shooked his head. Will sat beside him and hugged him. This time, Nico didn't try to escape; on the contrary, he clung to Will like a lifeline and he was so happy that Nico was finally allowing him to be his rock, his support. That is why he was there, to be with Nico when he needed him the most.

"This happens all the time. Why do they blame us? We didn't ask to be born."

"It is easier to get even with the children rather than the Gods I guessed," he took Nico's face in his hand and wiped a lonely tear that was running down the other boy's cheek "And we both know that's not what is bothering you. It's what Demeter said." Nico looked away at this. He hit the jackpot.

"She is right you know. This doesn't make any sense."

"Nico, every time you say that it hurts me. Do you really believe that I would be capable of playing with your feelings?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense, Will. You are so confident and I am so… I don't even know what I am. I don't even think there is an adjective that could describe me. Except boring maybe."

At this, Will stood up. That did it. That self-pity was going to be the end of them. "You think I don't have insecurities. Did you know that I have never been on a real quest? Everyone has been in one. In the Manhattan war, I wasn't even fighting. I know that taking care of the others was as important as that, but I wanted to fight alongside my siblings. I lost my brother Michael and I wasn't there to help him. I am not even a decent archer, but life is too short - even shorter if you are a demigod- to waste it thinking like that."

Nico was looking at Will in a whole new light. He got this you-are-so-imperfect-that-is-awesome look. "I had no idea, Will."

"Of course, you had no idea. You think you are the only one. Everybody has insecurities, Nico. At some point, we have all felt that we are not enough. The point is you don't let those things to stop you from living your life. I might not be as good as some of my siblings, but I am an excellent doctor. I am good at healing people. I focus on the blessings of my life rather than my shortcomings. If you focus only on the bad things, then you are not living." Wow, Will was getting good at this speech thing and also tired. Nico was looking the same, his words had no effects on him.

"At least, you are good at something. I don't have anything."

"Don't you do that with me. What do I have to do or say for you to believe in this? Honestly, I am thinking that you are only finding excuses to break this off."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. First, the thing with your father and now this. It is incredible how you always listen to what other people say and not what I say or do. Every day I tell you how hot you are. Seriously, you are like this Italian dream I didn't know I had. While you were in the infirmary, I brought you breakfast to bed. Do you think I do that for everyone? Hell no. that was an especial treatment for you. Why do you think my sister was so suspicious?"

Nico was quiet. Will hated quiet Nico. He hated when Nico didn't say anything and he had to read his mind. Unfortunately, that was not one of his father's gifts. "You gotta talk to me, Nico. I can't keep guessing anymore. I can't be the only one trying to make this relationship work."

"I…I don't know what to do, Will. You hid things from me." Nico had that stubborn look on his face. There was no way of talking to him when he was like this. He might as well be talking to a wall.

"Things? It was only one conversation with your father, that you got out of proportion. It's like I said before, Nico. You are just looking for an excuse to break us apart. Well, look no further, I am going to make this easy for you. I don't think I want to spend the weekend here anymore."

"What?" Now Nico reacted, he was showing something different that his previous stubbornness.

"Where are my things and how do I get back?" It broke him to see Nico all heartbroken, but he had to do it. Maybe that would snap Nico out of that self-loathing trance.

"You are leaving."

"Yep. Isn't this what you wanted? I am going to leave, so you can be alone and feel sorry for yourself."

Nico looked at him with so much pain in his eyes, "I thought I was worth waiting for."

Will was about to break and hug him, but he stood his ground. Nico was not the only one whose feelings were being shattered. He loved Nico, but he definitely couldn't be the only one rooting for the both of them. "Don't you dare use those words against me. I am not the one being irrational here and you know it. I want to go."

Nico's eyes were now full of rage, "As you wish." Nico stood up and opened the door; he summoned a servant and ordered him to get Will's things. Once they got everything, Nico took Will by the arm and shadow traveled to camp. He left Will at the edge of the forest and went back to the Underworld without saying a word.

What have I done? Will thought. I shouldn't have left, what the hell is wrong with me? Nico is going to believe that I abandoned him. If he wanted Nico to react he should have kissed him silly. There were a lot of things that he should have done. However, he chose to do the one thing that would hurt Nico the most; he left.

Will called out Nico for wanting to finish the relationship, but he was the one who bailed at the first sign of a problem. He was the coward and he wanted to go back, but even if he could get to the entrance in Central Park, there was no way that Hades was going to let him find his way to the Palace. He could try an Iris message, but that would give Nico the opportunity to disconnect the call. That conversation needed to be face to face. Will would have to wait. He pick up his things and made his way to his cabin. He just wanted to throw himself in bed and cry for being an idiot.

* * *

Nico had always thought that he kind of look like a zombie because of his pale skin. Today, he didn't just look like a zombie; he felt like one. He was paler than usual; his eyes were dull, and he was dead inside. Will left him. After all that shit he said about wanting to be with Nico and that they were meant to be; he left. There were not enough adjectives in the English language that could describe what Nico was feeling right now. Will was such a hypocrite.

Can you blame him? said that little voice in his brain that he tried to keep quiet because it was the one that had the power to make him feel bad about himself. You basically told the guy that he was a sellout and a liar. Are you really surprised that he left?

"Maybe Will was right. I was looking for an excuse to end it."

After he left Will at camp. He realized how exhausted he was. He shadow traveled three times in less than a few hours, and there was also the emotional exhaustion. Nico was lying in bed, looking up the ceiling thinking how much he hated his feelings. Who invented feelings? Who in his right mind would want to feel like this? Like your heart was being pulled out of your chest. It was the most stupid thing in the world and yet, Nico knew that he would do it all over again because those days with Will had been the happiest of his life.

Nico rolled over and stared at the balcony; he was grateful that his room overlooked Elysium rather than the Fields of Asphodel. Although, he felt like he was in there, waiting for something that would never happen. "Yes, anything would be better than this. I'd definitely do it all over again." He said to the air.

"Do what again?" asked a voice. Nico turned around and saw Hades standing there. He appeared inside his room. It was not the first time that he did it. He wanted to see how mortal Nico was by giving him a heart attack.

"Father, would you stop showing up like that? There is a door, you should have knocked."

Hades chuckled, "Nico, this might be your room, but it is my palace. I am allowed to go wherever I want without announcing myself."

Nico sat up and prepared himself to deal with whatever his father was planning to do now. "You are right. I apologize."

"Apology accepted," Hades walked around the room watching and touching everything. Nico frowned; he was wondering what his father was doing there. Why wasn't he consoling his dear wife? Hades stopped and sat on the bed beside Nico. "You don't look good."

"Thank you for noticing."

"You look like you want to commit suicide. I am going to share with you some information that you might not know. People who commit suicide go to the Fields of Punishment. No trial needed."

"So, what you are saying is that you wouldn't help me."

"If you were stupid enough to kill yourself, then you certainly don't deserve to go to Elysium."

"Wow, you always know the right thing to say to cheer me up, father." He smiled at Hades.

"You don't need to thank me. It is my duty as your father to make you happy when everything else has failed." He had this huge grin on his face. He really thought that he was doing a great job as a father, "Where is your boy?"

"He left."

"Was that dinner too much for him? I thought he was made of a stronger material. Well, not exactly, he is a son of Apollo after all. What happened?"

Apparently, Nico was in some strange universe where he had a father who wanted to know what was going out in his life. If his father were someone else that would be fine, but Hades sitting beside him trying him to cheer him up and wanting to know everything was plain weird. However, he could take advantage of it.

"Father, I need you, to be honest with me. Did you ask Will to date me?"

Hades stared at him and laughed. It was the first time he saw his father laugh like that. It was like ice running through your veins. That laugh made him look creepier; if that was even possible.

"Nico, you can be hilarious sometimes. Of course, I didn't do it. He had wanted to ask you out for a while, but he didn't know to do it. I paid him a visit. You should have seen his ideas. He wanted to declare by wearing a t-shirt with Nico, I like you on it."

"How do you know all this? Have you been spying on him?" he was marveled about the amount of information his father possessed and a little scared. Also, thank the Gods Will didn't do the t-shirt thing. That would have been embarrassing.

"I like to keep an eye on you, and he was keeping an eye on you too. Our paths crossed. In addition, I was not letting that kid wear that t-shirt."

"Have you visit Hazel's boyfriend? I mean, you must have had the same concerns with her."

His father looked up for a moment and then shooked his head, "No, that Zhang is harmless, but Solace, that one is a heartbreaker. Now, what happened? Tell your old man."

Hades was being embarrassing again, but somehow Nico was smiling. His father definitely knew how to cheer him up. "My old man? I can't take you seriously when you talk like that." Hades just looked up him with a smirk on his face. They stared at each other for a few minutes and Nico was the first one who dropped it, so he caved and gave his father a summary of what had happened. "Fine. I screwed up. I kept accusing Will of being a liar and kept acting like an idiot. To top it all, I think that I don't deserve Will because I am not enough for him." That was a little bit more than he had wanted to say. Maybe he had some advice, the guy had been alive forever. There was an uncomfortable silence after that, neither of them knew what to say.

"I think there is only one question you should ask yourself," said his father after a while "Do you want him back?"

Nico didn't need to think it twice "Yes, I do want him back, but I don't think I should be with anyone right now."

"Why not?" Hades was genuinely curious and interested in Nico's life. It was kind of sweet. At that moment, Nico realized that Will had been right. His father was sweet.

"I don't know. It was easier for me to believe that you made him date me than he actually cares about me." Another thing he couldn't believe; he was having this conversation with his father. Nico needed some friends. To be fair, he had friends, but he preferred to keep them at arms length.

"Perhaps he can help you with that."

"Perhaps, but how do I get him back?" Nico was asking his father for advice about his romantic life. He must be extremely desperate.

"Well, You should try to do a great gesture. He wanted to wear a ridiculous t-shirt; you could write something in the sky."

"Are you being serious?"

"I am an expert in great gestures. I kidnapped Persephone and look at us now; we couldn't be happier."

Hades was crazy if he thought that his relationship with Persephone was a good example. "No offense, but when it comes to what the Gods have done; I don't think I want to follow that kind of behavior. Besides, kidnapping is illegal, you should be in jail."

"Excuse me for being a romantic soul, but if opening up the earth to kidnap someone is not a great gesture, then I don't know what is."

They were both laughing now. Nico thought that this kind of father-son relationship is what normal kids have. The fact that his father was Hades is what made it, let's say, peculiar. Hades was trying to be like a normal dad; the zombie chauffeur should have been a clue. If the Lord of the Underworld could do it, then Nico should be able to try to be a normal son too.

"I am really sorry for what I said during the argument. I didn't mean it."

Hades put a hand on Nico's shoulder, "I know. She can get on my nerves too. Are you still staying for the weekend or are you going back?"

"I am going to stay; I have to think about stuff. I also wanted to talk to you about going back to school."

"Consider it done," he stood up and looked down at Nico "By the way, they left; so it is going to be a quiet weekend for the two us."

"Thanks… Dad." It was the first time he called him something different than Father or Hades. It felt right.

"I am just doing my job. You should rest. Think about whatever you have to think, then go back and get your man." Hades smiled and disappeared into a wall of fire. He was a showman after all.

Nico groaned. Leave it to his father to make a comment like that. He turned a nice moment into something disgusting. The man did have a point. Will was a romantic; a great gesture would be perfect for him, but what? If he did something like that it meant that he needed to come clean and accept his homosexuality in front of everyone, no more hiding. That thought made him afraid. He was not ready for that. However, Will deserved it, Will deserved to be with someone who wasn't afraid to show the world that they were together.

"This weekend is the perfect moment to plan a romantic great gesture for Will with my dad," said Nico. Then, he noticed something; that was the most awkward sentence anyone has ever said in the history of the world. "I must be crazy if I am going to plan something romantic with my father." His life couldn't get any weirder.

* * *

Nico's weekend didn't turn out to be exactly like he wanted, but he didn't regret one minute of it. He finally finished the Harry Potter books. The last few days had been pure kisses with Will and no reading. He finished _The Deathly Hallows_ in less than a day. Nico won the bet, and he would be collecting soon.

In addition to that, he spent a lot of time with his father. Quality time. They even talk about his mother. Hades refused to talk about her before and now Nico understood why. He was still in love with her.

"She saw me in a different light. She made me see my family in a different way too. Maria was an amazing woman, Nico. I regret that you and your sister didn't have enough time with her." Hades was indeed a romantic.

Since his dad was being honest, he decided to ask a question that had been nagging him for a while now.

"Dad, when a person chooses to be reborn. Do you know how? I mean, do you know who they become?" Hades looked at him and put a hand on Nico's shoulder. That answered his question.

"I don't know who your sister is now, Nico. You can be sure that she is happy. Besides, you have another sister now, Hazel. She has that boyfriend and something tells me that Zhang would be more afraid of you than of me."

"You scared the crap out of Will."

"I was wearing my scary outfit that day." His father smiled.

Nico was sad when the weekend was over. He bonded with his father. He wasn't afraid of being honest with him anymore. On the other hand, Nico was happy that he was going back to camp, but he was nervous as well. He had no idea what he was going to say to Will once he was there. Maybe he should open the conversation with "I won the bet, you are my slave now, my kissing slave." Nico groaned, that sounded tacky. He would think of something.

Nico went looking for his dad to say goodbye. He found him in the throne room, sitting on his throne like the big Lord he was.

"Nico, did you do the thinking you needed?"

"Yes, I did."

"Good, you were kind of depressing everyone around here," he gave Nico a folder full with papers. "This is the information you need to go to school. You need to get there in September, and that is it."

"Thanks, dad." Nico had decided to stick to his original plan and was starting this fall at Will's school. He was not running away anymore. "I better get going. Bye."

"Bye, son. You better go fast so you can get your man." Hades winked at him.

Nico facepalmed and disappeared in the shadows. He still didn't know what was going to happen, but he thought a lot about Will's words " _I focus on the blessings of my life rather than my shortcomings. If you focus only on the bad things, then you are not living."_ What Nico had been doing since Bianca die wasn't living. He was merely surviving and he was going to change that.


	9. The one with the feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, next chapter is going to be the last one. This story wasn't supposed to be this long, but inspiration hit. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Nico knew that if he wanted things to be fine again between Will and him; he would need some assistance. So, Nico knew that he was going to regret this later, but he had to do it. He breathed in and breathed out slowly. Also, he thought that he should, at least, count until one hundred, in German, so his heart would stop beating like crazy. One, two, three, four, five. "Okay, that's enough Nico. You have to do this. It is a necessary evil. You know, the end justify the means and all that." He murmured and knocked on the door in front of him.

Percy opened the door and smiled widely when he saw Nico. "Hey, long time no see," and proceeded to hug him. Unlike his other friends who ask for permission or just hug him for like one Mississipi. Percy took a simple hug to the next level and not only that; he hugged Nico every time he saw him. It was awful and traumatizing for Nico, several hugs in one day. That is what happens when you let people get close to you. They assumed that it was allowed for them to do it all the time.

Nico wanted to kill Percy sometimes, but taking into account that he could count his friends on the fingers of his hands. He decided to let it go and endured the hug with graciousness. He was a son of Hades after all and Italian to top it all.

Percy lifted him in the air and in what felt like an eternity, he finally let Nico go. "Don't give that face. I know you love my hugs. What can I do for you?"

Nico was already regretting coming to Percy for help. He should have talked to Annabeth, that was a mature human being, but he was here, so he might as well say it. "Can I come in? I need to talk to you."

Percy started jumping up and down with excitement. "OMG, it's finally happening."

"What is happening?" asked Nico with the word confuse written all over his face.

"You are here to tell me that you made a huge mistake and that I am indeed your type."

Nigo gave Percy his best "really?" look and said, "Yes, Percy I made a huge mistake. I came here for your help." He pushed Percy aside and entered the cabin. Now, this was a cabin. All of its windows were facing the sea, and the best part was that it didn't look like a vampire den. That is a nice way view to wake up to, thought Nico. Every morning he woke up -at least, the few nights he actually slept- with the feeling that he should be grateful for being alive and that nobody drove a stake through his heart at night.

"And here I was, wanting to say that the great Nico di Angelo had the hots for me. It is nothing, but a cruel dream." And he clutched his heart like it hurt and fell face first on his bed as if he was in deep pain.

"Percy, I know how this must be hard for you, but I need you to stop being ridiculous for a second and listen to me." which was something that was easier to say than to do. Nico started pacing around, going back and forth. He stopped, looked at Percy, opened his mouth to say something, but he thought better of it and continued his pacing. He didn't know how to start. He hated asking for help. Also, there were so many places to sit in here, how was he supposed to choose? You needed to find a good seat in order to start a story. That was like storytelling 101. He needed to find the perfect asking for help spot.

Percy looked at him. He sat for a while, waiting for Nico to get his bearings, but his ADHD didn't let him be any more patient. He stood up, grabbed Nico by the shoulders and sat him down in one of the empty bunks. Percy sat in front of Nico "Dude, you are freaking me out and honestly, I am getting a little bored too. What is it?"

"It's about Will." Answered Nico in a small voice.

"You are coming to rub it in my face, aren't you?

"Would you stop. I think we broke up. I don't know what to do."

"WHAT?" yelled Percy as if Annabeth had been the one to break up with him instead. He tended to take things as a personal affront, even when it wasn't about him, at all. "What happened? You guys are perfect for each other. You looked so sweet together."

"Well, during the weekend…" Nico trailed off when he realized something, "Hold a second, how do you know that we look "sweet" together? We have never been together in a public area."

"That time on the beach; when Jason, Lou Ellen and I were stalking you," He said like it was a normal rule to stalk your friends when they are kissing cute boys.

"I don't have a follow up for that." He decided to let that pass and reluctantly Nico told Percy about the events of the weekend. Now, that he was telling the facts and analyzing then, he realized how stupid they have been. First, he let Persephone get into his skin. He was the one giving her the power every time she got a reaction out of him. Second, Will wanted to comfort him and be with him; Nico acted like a jerk. Third, Will left. That hurt him the most.

"Wow," said Percy. The understatement of the year. " I thought my dad's family was awkward. You won."

"Why do you have to make everything a competition?"

"Sorry, What do you need exactly?"

"What I have been saying since I got in here. Help. I have no idea what to do. My dad suggested a great gesture, but that is too general. I need to narrow it down."

That caught Percy's attention real quick. "Wait a second, mister. Your dad gave you the idea of a great gesture," Nico nodded. "Your dad, Hades, Lord of the Underworld."

"Why is that so weird?" Nico knew why it was so weird, but he was not going to admit it in front of Percy. He was not the only one with a cool father.

"It's not. I just didn't know that I could ask Hades for relationship advice. From now on I will."

"Don't do it. He is going to suggest a kidnapping. He thinks that if it worked for Persephone and him, then it's going to work for everybody else."

"Well…"

"I am not kidnapping Will." He couldn't believe Percy was considering that idea.

"Fine, no kidnapping. Let's see, Will is a son of Apollo. He must like songs. Why don't you dedicate him a song? Better yet, you should sing it to him. You should write him a poem. It shouldn't be too difficult; I mean, you heard Apollo and his Haikus. Oh My God, you could dance." Percy was jumping up and down like a child on Christmas Morning. He was aware that Percy could go overboard with some things, but this was just ridiculous.

Nico knew that coming here was a mistake, but he just realized the magnitude of it. "Are you done with the stupid ideas? Are you planning on being useful at some point? How can Annabeth stand you?"

"Dude, calm down. To answer your final question, I am Annabeth's Seaweed Brain." Said Percy with a smug smile on his face. "Regarding the other questions, you said you were looking for a great gesture; those are great gestures. The problem is you; maybe you should start with a small gesture."

Damn, Percy had a point there. Nico wasn't the type of person who did stuff with a big bang unless it was war related. He left the big bang for the universe. He was quiet and shy; he should do something along those lines. Nico looked at Percy "What do you suggest?"

"I don't know. Go talk to him." Said Percy as if it was the obvious thing.

"Is that it? That's your great idea."

Percy just shrugged. "You two clearly need to talk first. You make out and everything is fine. You get back together, and we can go on double dates. Well, make that triple dates; Jason would want to come with Piper." Then Percy went on talking about places they could go and things they could do. He might as well be planning a June wedding at the Plaza for all of them.

Nico should have known that asking Percy for help in the romantic area was a waste of time. If you wanted to fight off some monsters, he was the man for the job, but when it came to other things, Percy got distracted easily.

"If I can interrupt your rant. I am going now. You are clearly too busy having imaginary dates with people. Thank you, for nothing. Have a nice day."

"Come on, Nico. Don't be like that. I am being realistic here. Anything I might suggest; you are not going to like it or maybe you would like it, but you are not going to do it. I think that the question is, are you willing to make a fool out of yourself for Will?"

Nico shook his head, "I don't think so." He wanted things with Will to go back to normal, but he saw people making stupid things for the ones important to them, and he didn't think he was one of those people.

"Are you, at least, willing to you know, come out?"

"Maybe."

"Wrong answer Nico. If you really like him; there shouldn't be a maybe. You have to be sure of your feelings for him. When a person really likes someone, they would do anything to be with that person. This is going to sound like a cheesy song, but they are willing to go the extra mile for the ones they care about. They can even make hell look like paradise just because they are together." At this Percy got a faraway look in his face, remembering his time in Tartarus with Annabeth.

Nico felt like such and idiot. Now, he knew why he went with Percy; the man who fell into Tartarus to be with the woman he loved. Percy, who made the other men felt as if they were slackers because nobody would be able to top that.

"How did you get to be so smart?"

"Hang out with Annabeth long enough and it will rub on you. It's like her kisses transmit intelligence. I think that's her superpower, but don't tell anyone." He whispered. They were laughing. When was the last time they were so at ease with each other? "I do have a question for you. Why are so afraid? This is not the 40s anymore; nobody is going to think less of you or see you in a different light because you are gay."

"You did."

"What? When?"

"You looked at me weird the first few days. I mean, even when you were trying to set me up with a Roman; I felt like you were overdoing it or that you felt guilty just because you were with Annabeth and I was alone."

"Nico, it wasn't because you were gay. You said I wasn't your type. Also, it was Jason's idea the date thing."

"Why do you care so much? You are with Annabeth and if that weren't enough, you are not gay."

"It's a matter of principle Nico. How can you say no to this?" he stood up and moved his hand up and down his body, so Nico could see what he was missing.

"You have serious problems, Percy."

"Being awesome is not a problem. It's a gift."

Nico rolled his eyes at Percy, thankful that they could still be friends despite everything. "So, you think I should just talk to him?"

"Yes, talk to him and I can promise that I am not going to spy this time."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart." He crossed his heart, indeed.

"Fine, thanks for you know, listening and crap."

"That's what friends are for Nico. Don't you forget that." Percy opened his arms to give Nico a bear hug, but Nico just ducked and ran through the door and heard Percy yelling at him. "You'll be back."

Yes, he would probably be back. Percy was right, he was going to find Will and talk to him. He was going to stop hiding for once and face Will and say everything he was feeling. Stupid feelings.

* * *

Will was in the infirmary; he had been there since he came back from the Underworld. He had worked non-stop. He also noticed the looks his sibling kept giving him as if they were waiting for him to fall from exhaustion. They didn't even have a lot of patients; just a few kids from Hephestus Cabin who had been burnt in a fire trying to build something. He wasn't sure what anymore. The rest of the time he spent it doing inventory over and over again.

Will was so absorbed that he didn't know that Nico was back. He was inside the supply closet, doing inventory yet again. He already knew what was inside that thing by heart. He sat down and decided to close his eyes for just a brief moment. He didn't need to sleep, he was just going to rest for a bit. Will kept thinking about how instead of leaving, he could have stayed. He could have kissed Nico, and the other boy would haven't been able to say anything because he was going to be focused on kissing Will.

He was thinking about one of those nights. Will sneaked out of his cabin and went to Nico's with some extra food. Nico needed still to gain some weight and Will was a man on a mission: To get Nico di Angelo fat. It took a lot of convincing, but after a few kisses and some pouting Nico couldn't say no to anything. After that, Nico tried to explain to him, rather unsuccessfully the rules of Mythomagic and they ended up making out past midnight. Nico would be sleeping and Will left quietly to go back to his cabin.

It sounded like a lot of work, but he knew Nico still had nightmares about Tartarus and the only nights he slept like a baby were the nights Will stayed until he fell asleep. How did he know? It was enough to see Nico's eyes the next morning to know it. He was a doctor after all; it was his job to know how people were doing without them telling him. The number one thing you learned when you are a doctor is that patients lie, especially if they are like Nico, who is so used to people not caring about him that he stopped caring about himself.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped and turned around. Will thought that he might be dreaming. Nico was standing in front of him, looking as if he hadn't slept in ages. Although, to be fair he probably looked the same.

"Am I dreaming?" Gods, please let it be a dream, he thought. Nico would find that question totally uncool.

"No, you are not dreaming. Although, I do find flattering that you dream about me." Nico gave him a small smile.

There was an awkward silence between them. Neither of them knew what to say or do. Will though that they passed that stage where they didn't know how to act in front of each other. Apparently, the awkwardness was back.

"When did you get back?" he decided to start with an easy question. There was nothing wrong or compromising about it. They were in a safe place, literally.

"A few hours ago. How have you been?" Nico was fidgeting. Will knew that movement. Nico wanted to say something, but he didn't know why; most of the time he chose not to say anything and leave. Like hell, Will was letting him do that.

"Fine, I've been working. and you?"

"Fine. I spent some time with my dad."

"Cool."

Nico opened his mouth and closed it again. Someone was going to have to start the talk. It could be him, but deep down he wanted Nico to do it. He wanted Nico to have the courage to say to him what he needed to say.

"I am sorry," they both said at the same time. Before Will could say anything else, Nico covered his mouth with his hand and started talking.

"Let me talk. You always do the talking and it is time for me to say something. I am sorry for being such a jerk. You were only trying to be comforting and caring, and I was the one who treated you like a liar and a faker. I am not used to it and every time you try it makes me feel anxious. I kind of feel the opposite of what you are trying to do. I am sorry for not believing in you and your feelings for me. I know it was a stupid thing to do. Actually, there are not enough adjectives in the English language to describe that. Also, I want you to know that it hurt when you left. I know that I was being a bit irrational, but you shouldn't have left."

Nico said all this regretting every word that came out of his mouth and getting redder by the minute, but Will was grateful that he did. He pointed to Nico's hand in his mouth. It was his turn to say something and it was sort of difficult to talk when your mouth was being covered. Nico moved his hand and looked everywhere but at him. Apparently, bandages were extremely exciting.

"I am sorry too, Nico. I know I should haven't left when you needed me the most. The things you were saying made me angry and I thought that it would be better to stay apart for a while before we could say a hurtful thing. It hurt me when you immediately assume that I would be with you because your father threatened me rather than believing that I had feelings for you. You hurt yourself when you say things like that and I can't stand to see you hurt." Keep it cool, Solace. Do you want him to run away? thought Will.

"I know. I am sorry for being an idiot." Nico didn't know what to do with his hands. He wanted to touch Will, but thought better of it and then put his hands back in his pockets. "So, what do we do now?"

"I don't know. Kiss?" That gave him the reaction he expected. Nico laughed, one of those laughs that made Will's heart skipped a beat.

"That's all? Kiss and we are fine."

"Not exactly, the kiss is for medical reasons."

"Medical reasons?"

"Yes, you clearly haven't slept well and a kiss is just the thing you need." He gave Nico his best come-hither look, but Nico wouldn't budge.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Dr. Solace?"

"Doctor's orders." He winked and this time, Nico laughed the one that sounded like a pig. It was so adorable. Nico locked the door and threw himself at Will holding onto him for dear life and kissed him, hungrily as if he thought he would never kiss Will again.

Will wasn't expecting that enthusiasm and almost fell. They knocked down several shelves full of the supplies Will spent the past weekend organizing and reorganizing. He couldn't care less about that. Everything disappeared when Nico was around. The only thing in his head besides Nico was a song he was sure had been written for them: _"When you kiss me heaven sighs and though I close my eyes I see la vie en rose."_

Yes, that was definitely their song. They would have stay there, kissing forever, but someone knocked on the door. They separated not without whimpering for the lost of the other one's lips.

"Will, are you alright?"

After that kiss, Will forgot how to breathe and how to talk. It took him an embarrassingly amount of time for him to say something. "I am fine. I… fell."

"Why is the door locked?"

"Because I was sleeping and I didn't want people to interrupt me."

"But are you okay?"

"Yes, goddamn it, I am okay. Would you please go?"

"Gee, sorry for worrying about your well being." The person on the other side kicked the door and left.

"Don't you laugh," he pointed at Nico, who was snickering.

"She was really worried about you. You should go and apologize to her. I can not believe I just said that. You are ruining me."

Will smiled at Nico. He took his hand and kissed it. "I missed you."

Nico got on his tiptoes and kissed Will. Nico was all about showing his feelings today and honestly, Will couldn't be happier. "I missed you too. I know that we need to talk more, so would you come to my cabin tonight?" Nico blushed at this. It was so adorable when he did that.

"I was going to be there anyway; you let me in remember. Now, I can go in every time I want; kind of like a vampire."

"Good thing you are not a real vampire. You'd be dead by now, taking into account how much you love the sun," he gave Will another kiss "I am going now. You need to organize all this. I see you tonight."

Really? He took Nico's arm, stopping him from opening that door. "Oh no, sir. You stay here and help me with this. You were the one who caused this and do you really want to go out looking like that?"

"Like what?"

"You are all red and your lips are all puffy. Someone already knows something happened. If you go out like that, you will be giving them all the information."

"I could just punch you and give you a black eye. That should be enough." But Nico started picking up things from the floor and asking Will for directions. Together they picked up the shelves and the supplies and put everything back where they belonged.

This is it, Will thought. The two of them doing a menial task in silence. It was not an awkward silence. It was the kind of silence that two people shared when they were comfortable with each other. They didn't need to fill it with constant chatter. They just needed to know that they were together to feel complete.

When they finished, Nico gave him another kiss and left. It was an awkward situation to explain to the siblings what was Nico doing there. He explained it the best he could, but his siblings were onto him. They knew there was something more than a friendship between them. Will was going to talk with Nico about that tonight. He didn't like to hide his feelings for someone. He had always been an open person about everything in his life. More importantly, he wanted to shout to the world that he was dating Nico di Angelo.

That would probably cause another fight, but he was not going to leave this time.

* * *

It was dinner time and Nico was sitting at his table, alone. He kept glancing at Apollo's table where Will was talking and laughing with his siblings. Did that guy never get tired of laughing and being happy? That couldn't be normal. Although, Will looked so handsome when he was smiling, who could blame him for doing it all the time. It's like he could heal this broken world with that smile.

Sometimes their eyes would meet and Will winked at him and he just blushed, as usual. Nico hated being so pale. It was obvious what he was feeling. It was a mixture of love, pleasure, and shame for being so happy. He still couldn't believe it, but he was getting there. He needed to believe that he deserved to be happy as much as the next person.

Nico knew that they still needed to talk more, but he was happy with the conversation they had this morning and how he was able to say what he wanted to say. Will didn't judge him or anything, and that made him think that Will deserved a great gesture; something big, something romantic, something that would also let everybody know that Will was taken and they should back off.

A t-shirt maybe with "Will is mine" on the front. That was too obvious and ridiculous. He looked at Apollo's table again and Will, who was laughing at something one of his brothers said and at that moment, he knew what he needed to do. He knew what would make Will happy and it would earn him boyfriend points for the future.

Nico stood up on wobbly legs and made his way to the Apollo's table. The good thing about the mess hall is that people were focused on their food and conversation. Not tonight, though. They were looking at Nico as he passed, wondering what he was doing. He looked at Poseidon's table and got a thumbs up from Percy, who figured out his intention and was encouraging him to just do it.

Everyone one was looking at him; everyone except for Will, which was a good thing. Nico would have bolted if Will were staring at him. He got right behind Will and tapped him on the shoulder.

Will turned around and let's just say it was worth it that walk with all those eyes on him just to see Will's expression. His mouth was a perfect O and for once he was speechless.

"Uh… What? I… What? You…"

Nico leaned and kissed him right in front of everybody. It took a few second for Will to recover from the surprise but when he did. He kissed Nico back with enthusiasm, just like Nico did that morning. Will passed his hand through Nico's hair making it a mess. He heard some gasps coming from the other campers. He couldn't care less about them. Let them think whatever they wanted. If he was happy none of that mattered.

When they finally came up for breath, Will was the one all red. "Okay," was all he could say. Nico smiled and kissed him, again. "Will, would you sit with me at my table?" At this, Will had a huge grin on his face "It would be my pleasure."

Will stood up, took Nico's hand and they walked like that towards Nico's table. They heard someone said in Apollo's table "Told you they were together. Now, pay up." Apparently, there had been a bet going on in that cabin, whether he and Will were dating or not. They hadn't been as careful as Nico had thought. Will's siblings were exchanging money and he heard people murmuring as they walked.

Nico smiled when he discovered that he actually didn't care what other people thought. There were a few catcalls too; all of those coming from Percy's table. That was a supportive friend.

They sat side by side, still holding hands and looking at each other as if they were the only people there. Nico was happy and this was just the beginning.


	10. La Vie en Rose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the last chapter I hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much for your comments, kudos and everything. This is for my friends Angie and Laura; they have no idea what an OTP is, but they supported me and they are major Solangelo shippers now.
> 
> Song: La Vie en Rose - Louis Armstrong version.

They were in Nico's cabin, as usual, sitting on Nico's bed with their backs against the headboard. After dinner, they came here and talk about everything and nothing.

Nico was happy that he had been brave enough to stand up, walk towards Will and kiss him right in front of everyone. However, that rush of adrenaline disappeared as soon as he sat down on the table with Will and felt everyone's eyes fixated on them. He didn't dare to look at the head table, what would Chiron think of them now? Although, the man was half horse; he was sure that there was not going to be any judgment there. When it came to the rest of the camp, that was an entirely different story; people were talking and pointing. Nico wanted to shrink down in his chair and vanish. He could have done it, but that would have been the coward's way out and he was not a coward, not anymore.

Will didn't help with the feeling either; he was just sitting there with a stupid smile on his face. Nico didn't know whether to smack that smile off his face or kiss him. There was no middle ground with Will, you wanted either to slap him for being so happy or kiss him for being that happy. Nico woke up every morning without knowing if that was the day when he would finally slap the son of Apollo. Didn't he feel it, though? The mocking looks, the condemnation, Nico knew he was exaggerating with that last one, yet it was the only thing he could think about. Was Will that oblivious of what other people thought?

At that moment, as if Will knew he needed. He looked at Nico and smiled. Suddenly, nothing else mattered. There was only Will with that blinding smile that was a beacon of light for Nico's dark soul. Will and his overconfidence. Will who made Nico believe that anything was possible and that they could make it despite their differences. There was hope again in this dark and twisted world. Interesting what a simple smile could do for someone.

It all went a little better for Nico when Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper sat with them, showing their support and probably breaking some implied rule about the seating arrangement. Nico couldn't care less; he got out of his comfort, boring zone and as a reward, he got the dreamiest guy ever, who somehow thought that Nico was the best thing that ever happened to this world and fantastic friends that showed him with their actions how important he was to them. They could be annoying, but Nico wouldn't have it any other way.

Whisperers could go to hell (his Father would have some punishment ready for them) for the first time in four years he was genuinely happy and no one was taking that from him.

"You better be thinking about me because if that smile is for someone else, I'm gonna be pissed." Said Will, who was trying to get Nico's attention by poking him in the ribs with his finger.

Will had been telling him something and he had been day dreaming. "Sorry, I still can't believe that I had the guts to do it."

Will took one of Nico's hands and kissed his palm tenderly. Nico melted every time Will did that. Seriously, that should be illegal. "I, on the other hand, am ecstatic that you did it. Everybody is going to be so jealous. The hottest guy in camp Nico di Angelo kissed me in front of everyone. You broke so many hearts today Ghost King."

"I am not the hottest guy in here. What about you Dr. Solace?" Nico wiggled his eyebrows, which was something he was not used to doing, so it came out looking like he was having some sort of attack. Will kissed him on the forehead.

"I am hot; I am not going to deny it, but you have this bad boy aura around you. In addition, you are Italian. You are literally the hottest guy I have ever met."

"I think you meant figuratively, and that is impossible. I can't be the hottest guy you have ever met. You need to take into account the percentage of people that you have met in your entire life. Then, you throw in there the ones you have considered hot, and next, we have to think about what you consider hot, and that is just a variable. The probability of me being the hottest guy you have ever met is like 1 in 100." He looked at Will. Why was so difficult for him to accept a compliment? The guy said you were hot, take it.

Will was smiling at him. "I love when you talk math to me. Now, shut up and kiss me."

"You are the one who is talking."

"Kiss me, Doctor's orders."

Nico just laughed, "I can't believe I missed that cheesy line of yours." Will kissed him then and damn if those kisses didn't make his toes curl. His brain turned to mush, his knees gave up (good thing he was sitting) and he could have sworn that he felt healthier. If Annabeth's kisses made Percy smarter; Will's kisses healed him from the inside out. If that was Apollo's gift, thank the Gods he was the only one who got to enjoy it.

After that earth-shattering kiss, the only coherent thing Nico could say was "Wow."

"That's all a guy wants to hear." Will kissed him on the cheek and went to nuzzle his neck. He was about to go all vampire on it. Nico needed to say something else before he got distracted.

"You were right, you know."

"You are going to have to be more specific," whispered Will and kissed him on that sensitive spot on his neck that sent shivers down his spine. " I am always right."

Nico could feel Will smirking, so he smacked him in the arm and pushed him away for a moment. He needed to say something important. "Stop being an idiot. I am trying to talk about feelings and crap."

"Fine, I'll behave. For now." He wiggled his eyebrows, which Nico hated because Will knew how to do it.

"You were right when you said that I tend to focus on the bad things and that I might have been trying to sabotage this. I forgot how it was to trust someone; before you, I was not living I was barely surviving. You showed me every day that life is different and that I deserve to be happy. I am sorry that it took you leaving that night for me to realize it."

"You don't need to apologize Nico. I am sorry too and if anything I'm the lucky one here, my boyfriend is a king."

They laughed and looked into each other's eyes. Nico had been trying to match the blue of Will's eyes with something. The sky wasn't that blue, neither was the ocean. Maybe the reason he couldn't find a match was because Will's eyes were always changing, normally they were pale, but they turn kind of a dark blue when he was kissing Nico. They were like steel when Will was mad, yet soft and gentle when he was helping people in the infirmary. Nico often thought of that color as Will blue. It was his personal favorite, although it still came second to black.

Nico realized that they have been looking at each other for like a thousand minutes, and he said, "We are a disgustingly romantic couple now, aren't we?"

"I think we are."

"I'm revolted by myself. I think I'm going to throw up."

"Don't say that," he put an arm around Nico's shoulders, held him tight and kissed him on the forehead. "I think we are a cute couple. I like that you are not trying to escape my hug."

"I am not going anywhere. I'm afraid that you are stuck with me, Solace."

"Then, I am the luckiest man on earth." He leaned to kiss Nico, but he kept him away. Nico just remembered something important.

"I almost forgot. I won the bet. I finished _The Deathly Hallows_ in less than a day."

Will's eyes gleamed with mischief, "Really? Then, I guess I am your slave for one day. What are your plans?"

"Honestly, I was going to make you redecorate this entire cabin by yourself, but I thought of something else," he didn't say anything for a minute. He was building up the anticipation and to be honest, he was a little bit ashamed of saying as well.

"WHAT?" asked Will, who was getting impatient.

"I thought that you could be my kissing slave," Nico winced when he said it as if someone had punched him. It sounded way different in his head, and he was definitely not made for this. "Sorry, that sounded better in my head." Nico covered his face. This couple stuff was so embarrassing.

"No need to be sorry, Mr di Angelo. Actually, it sounds really, very, extremely hot."

Will uncovered his face and kissed him. Nico was seriously considering doing this for a living. Someone might pay him for doing that, right? His hand moved up from Will's waist to his hair. No one should be allowed to have hair that soft. This was probably Nico's new obsession, touching Will's soft, stupid hair. Nico tugged at it a little to see what happened. Will groaned and deepened the kiss, clutching at Nico's shirt for dear life. Holy shit, to think that I almost miss this, Nico mused.

Nico heard a gasp. He ended the kiss abruptly, looked around and saw Hazel, who was covering her eyes and saying, "Why do I always have such a bad timing with this message thingy?"

Nico didn't know what to do, so he just panicked, pushed Will off the bed and said the first thing that came to mind, "Hazel, it's not what you think." He knew how lame that line was, but his brain hadn't come back online after that kiss.

"So, you weren't kissing passionately, I must add, that cute guy," said Hazel uncovering her eyes to see Nico's deer in headlights face.

"Nico, you have got to stop pushing me off the bed. You are giving me mixed signals," He had his elbows on the bed and face on his hands. "By the way, I can't believe you use that line. It is always what people think." Then, he looked a Hazel, giving her his Prince Charming smile, "Hello Hazel, and thank you. I think you are cute as well."

"Thank you. I am sorry, I can't seem to remember your name, but I do know that you are the doctor. The one who made Nico go to the infirmary."

"Will Solace, at your service." He saluted.

"Will, could you give us a minute? I need to talk to Hazel." Said Nico, finally recovering his wits.

"Sure thing sweet pie," Will stood up, kissed Nico and left with a smirk on his face. Nico was going to make him pay for that sweet pie thing later. Now, he needed to come clean to hazel too. It was going to be difficult because the minute Will was out, Hazel started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Sorry, it's just, who is going to believe the "it's not what it looks like" line? Really Nico."

"You got a point there. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I thought that you… maybe…"

"What? Please, don't tell me that you thought I was going to have a problem with it."

Nico looked embarrassed. That was exactly what he had thought. Hazel was from the 30s, she probably grew up hearing that homosexualism was a disease, a sin, and all those horrible things. Nico thought that if she found out about him, he would lose her; he didn't want to lose another sister.

"Nico, I don't mind. Although I admit I could have live without watching you in such an intimate situation," she was fanning her face with her hand, as she often did when she got embarrassed about something. "Anyway, I already knew you had a boyfriend. Dad told me."

"I had no idea he was such a gossip," Nico was looking everywhere but at Hazel. Was it possible that everything was going to be so easy? Was he the only one with the Doomsday mentality? He had been living all of his life hiding his feelings and as it turned out, it wasn't that big of a deal. Everybody was taking the news so calmly. He had been the one holding himself back all those years. "You really don't mind?"

"I don't Nico. I mind that you didn't tell me."

His father and sister didn't mind. Bianca knew and accepted him, why was he so worried? For the second time that night, he had the certainty that everything was going to be okay. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to lose you."

"That would have never happened, Nico. Let me ask you this, are you happy?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then, I'm happy too. Should I go and scare him like you try to do Frank?"

Nico finally smiled, "Dad already did it. It was the most embarrassing experience of my entire life."

"Good. By the way, I know this is none of my business, but you shouldn't be alone like that in the cabin. It's not proper."

Nico was blushing and was about to fan his face like Hazel did. They were definitely siblings, "It's okay Hazel. We were talking. I know we were kissing when you call, but we were talking before that happened."

"If you say so, but be careful; dad is always watching."

"Gods, that sounds creepy. I think you just fuel tonight's nightmares."

Hazel had the most beautiful smile in the world. It made Nico happy to see it, knowing how much she had suffered in her previous life. "I was calling to see if you would come visit. Dad said you are going back to school, so I thought we could spend some time together before you start."

"Yes, I will visit."

"Awesome, bring Will. We are going to have so much fun," she was clapping her hands in excitement. Nico was excited too, but he also wanted her to finish the call, like yesterday. Will was outside and he wanted to continue with the make out session. "You are obviously desperate to go back to your "talking" let me know when you are coming. Remember what I said, not proper. Bye, have a good evening." She waved her hand through the mist, ending the call.

Nico leaped out of the bed and opened the door to find Will sitting on the ground. He stood up the minute the door was opened, pushed Nico inside, closed the door with his foot and kissed Nico. When they finally came up for air, Nico almost fell, he had to grab Will's arm for support.

"What was that for?"

"I missed you."

"It was like 10 minutes. Not complaining, just stating the facts."

"How was it with your sister?" Will took his hand and they sat in bed again.

"Okay, she already knew. Dad told her. She invited us to Camp Jupiter before the beginning of the school year. Do you wanna come?"

"Yes, I do. She is my sister-in-law, we ned to spend time together and stuff. Anyway, can we keep making out?"

Nico nodded and jumped Will giving him a kiss and this time, Nico was the one who went vampire on his neck.

* * *

Next day, Will was in the infirmary, getting congratulated by his siblings the minute he walked in. There had been even a round of applause from the few patients they had. Some of his siblings were making fun of him for his expression of surprise last night when Nico came up to their table. He hadn't been expecting it, of course, he was going to look like an idiot.

"Anyway, we are just happy for you bro. We were wondering how long it was going to take before you make it official." Said David punching him in the arm. It was what bros did according to him.

"How did you all know?"

"You are transparent to us, Will. Also, the fact that di Angelo started smiling after those three days holed up with you in here was a giveaway."

Yep, every single one of his siblings knew about them. Apparently, he wasn't as good as he thought in stealth. They noticed when he left the cabin at night and came back in before the sunrise. They were just waiting for him to make the announcement, so they could collect the bet money.

Will was so happy, actually happy wasn't the right adjective. He was ecstatic, cheerful, glad, jubilant. None of those words felt right. His feelings were much greater than that. Will still couldn't believe that Nico went after him like that, and today he was the one with the hickeys. Interesting what a little confidence did to people. One day he was a shy boy who thought his dad bought him a date, the next one he was kissing Will as if there was no tomorrow. He was smiling so much that day; his sibling decided to throw him out of the infirmary, saying that he was making everybody else feel miserable because they didn't have anyone.

So, he started walking around camp. He was not looking for Nico, he could spend an entire day without seeing him. However, Will knew that Nico was in the training grounds with his friends if he happened to go there, he wasn't stalking on anything. Will needed to practice, it had been a while since the last time. He would just go, practice a bit and then leave.

Will entered the Arena, his eyes immediately moved to the spot where Nico was standing. He was like a magnet. He always knew where Nico was; he always knew when Nico looked at him. It was something that not even science could explain.

Nico was, as usual, all in black. Black t-shirt with a skull pattern on it. The skinniest jeans Will had ever seen. Not that he was complaining, the view was nice. Nico was the only one who could wear so much black and not look like someone in a Death Metal band. The fact that he didn't believe he was the hottest guy in camp, escape Will's understanding. Especially today. Nico was smiling, broadly. It was a sight to behold. Nico didn't realize how mesmerizing that smile was. Will's heart skipped a bit. It happened every damn time he saw Nico. He should be worried; he was a doctor after all, but he knew what it was, love.

He was irrevocably in love with Nico di Angelo, that's what his heart was telling him. And sometimes his lungs too. He had the tendency to lose his breath at Nico's sight. Unfortunately, he could not tell Nico that. At least not yet. He was not ready to hear it and Will was not ready to say it. They still had a long way to go. The only thing he could do was showing his feelings for Nico with actions every day until they were both ready for the big L word to come into their relationship. Nico took his heart without realizing it. Will was just hoping that he wouldn't smash it to pieces. He didn't think that he could survive it.

Will left before Nico noticed that he had been there. Not stalking. He had a surprise planned for tonight. Actually, it was something that he had been wanting to do since the night they first kissed, but Nico might get embarrassed. Although, just because they were official now, it didn't mean that the embarrassment was gone. He'd just have to wait and see.

* * *

"Lou Ellen, I'm hungry. I need to go left my sword in the cabin and then go the dining hall." Nico had been all afternoon with Lou Ellen plastered to him like a second skin. He knew something was going on, but he couldn't get it out of that girl. She could be really chatty when she wanted, however, tonight her lips had been sealed.

"Come one, Nico. We can still practice just a bit more. You could win the next round."

"We have done everything today; sword practice, archery, we climbed the wall, we even helped in the stables. I am tired and I need nourishment. My doctor can tell you that, I believe you know him."

"We haven't gone to the strawberry fields. There must be some strawberries that need picking. Let's go." She grabbed Nico by the arm and started taking him towards the field. Nico was tired, he put his foot down and asked.

"What's going on? You have been keeping me busy all day. I want to know, now."

She looked at him, kept looking. Nico was not going to budge, he was tired and damn it, for the first time he wanted to eat. He crossed his arms and stood there, waiting for an answer. This was a battle of wills and that girl didn't know with whom she was competing.

They stared at each other for a long time and Nico decided to make the first move. "Fine, don't tell me. I am hungry and I am going. Stay if you want." He was leaving and Lou Ellen called after him.

"Nico, come one. We were bonding, I am like your sister-in-law. You are not going to abandon me, right?"

He waved at her and started running to his cabin before she decided to use the mist to stop him or something like that.

Nico got to his cabin, safely. He opened his door and he stopped at the threshold. Will had redecorated his cabin. There were balloons hanging from the ceiling. There were vases filled with flowers on the night tables and the beds/coffins were on the back, and in the middle of the room, there was a dining table. There were candles on it and food that smelled delicious and made Nico's stomach growl. The best thing was Will standing by the table, he was wearing his usual outfit of shorts and orange t-shirt, but he looked as handsome as ever. He had some flowers in his hand.

"I was supposed to go change. I supposed Lou Ellen couldn't distract you anymore."

"What's this?"

Will looked nervous, he moved the flowers from one hand to the other. "I wanted us to have an especial, private dinner. We never had like a real date and I thought this could be it. Do you like it? I know it can be a bit too much, but we deserve it."

Nico was speechless; this was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him. It was a little too romantic, but it was from Will. He went to Will grabbed him by the neck and pulled him down for a kiss. The perks of being short, he could drag Will down and the guy was not going to complain about it.

"I love it," said Nico after the kiss. It was the right thing to say; Will lighted up like a Christmas Tree after that. He gave Nico the flowers and pulled out the chair for him to sit, like the gentleman he was.

They ate and talked and laughed. Nico couldn't remember the last time he had been this happy. The food had been delicious and the company, of course, made it all better.

After they finished, Will stood up and went to a turntable. Had that been there this whole time? "I have a surprise for you, Nico."

"Another one? Dude, you are setting the bar too high. How am I suppose to level this?"

"It's not a competition, Nico. I just wanted to show you how important you are to me. Also, I found our song."

"We have a song?" Nico frowned, he wasn't sure he liked where this was going.

Will nodded. He put a vinyl record on the platter, he positioned the needle thingy on the record and a soft song started coming out of it. It was jazz or something like it. Nico's heart started beating faster when Will came to him with an outstretched hand. He was not asking for a dance, was it? Nico didn't dance. It was a foreign concept to him. Something other people did, not him.

"I don't dance."

"Not even with me? Come on, Nico. It's not so hard and it is our song." Will pouted and damn it and in that moment, Nico vowed that he was going to sew that mouth together. It was impossible for him to say no to that expression.

He stood up and took Will's hand. The smile that Will gave him was definitely worth it. "Just followed my lead," he said, placing Nico's hand on his shoulders and putting his own hands on Nico's waist. "Now, move like this."

Dancing was not so hard. Why did he avoid it? He had to move back and forth and that was it, no big deal. It was really romantic, which was something he never thought that he would get to experience.

"How do you know this is our song?"

"Listen carefully." And he did. After what felt like half an hour; a man started singing and Nico paid attention to the lyrics.

_Hold me close and hold me fast_ _  
_ _The magic spell you cast, this is la vie en rose_

_When you kiss me heaven sighs_ _  
_ _And though I close my eyes I see la vie en rose_

_When you press me to your heart_ _  
_ _I'm in a world apart, a world where roses bloom_

_And when you speak angels sing from above_ _  
_ _Everyday words seems, to turn into love songs_

_Give your heart and soul to me_ _  
_ _And life will always be la vie en rose_

The song ended, but they didn't stop dancing. They kept moving, their eyes closed and pressing their foreheads together. Time stood still. Nico could have died right that second and he would die a happy man.

"That's every day with you, Nico."

Nico thought of the night of their first kiss when he ran away and Will came for him. Will said that they were meant to be together. At the time, he didn't believe it. He didn't believe that it could be possible for him to find happiness with someone that was his complete opposite, but here he was slow dancing with Will and feeling as if his heart was going to explode for all the emotions inside it. He was all teary eyed.

"You were right. We are meant to be." Will closed the space between them and kissed him, tenderly.

Nico didn't know what was waiting for them. Nico didn't even know if this relationship was going to last, but he was sure of one thing. He would fight for this, for them. He was not going to give them up. This night was the beginning of his new life.


End file.
